Ol/^  See  the  testimonials  at  pages  16,'  17,  &c.,  of  ALL,  without 
exception,  of  the  ship-builders  in  the  city  of  New  York — the  best  naval 
architects  in  the  world — and  the  only  place  where  this  dock  and  the 
Balance  dock  are  in  operation  together — preferring  this  plan  to  THAT 
and  ALL  OTHERS  jtKtls'o  the  concurrence  of  all  the  rest  of  the  ship- 
ping interest  of  that  city. 


O  c-X^AD  c  r--C>t5"t  tr^to <~-&\Q  oU^O  & 


i  E 


B  R  I  r  F    S  KETCH 

OF  THE 

PLAN  AND  ADVANTAGES 

OF 

AN    IMPROVED    STONE    DRY  DOCK 

COMBINED  WITH 

A  SECTIONAL 


I   FLOATING  DRY  DOCK 


k 
I 

§11 

m 

QAwmPC 
I 

jgB2     LEVEL  BEDWAYSj  SLIDING  WAYS,  AND  HOUSED  SLIPS 
FOR  REPAIRING,  LAUNCHING,  AND  LAYING 
UP  IN  ORDINARY,   THE  SHIPS  OF  THE 


AND  FORMING 

A    P  E  R  M  A  N  E  N  T 
STONE    BASIX,  PLATFORM, 


m 

I 

5 

G    5 ' 

:  .5. 

i 

:  a  ^ 


UNITED  STATES  NAVY, 


NEW-YORK: 
PRINTED  P>Y   P.  MILLER,  NO.    102  BROADWAY 
NEAR  WALL  STREET. 


llli!!ii|MiiUMniaii"«" 


1845. 


1 


I 


TftYlOR 
JTM.  COLti 

I.Uer.F 


A 

BRIEF  SKETCH 

OF  THE 

PLAN    AND  ADVANTAGES 

OF  A 


SECTIONAL  FLOATING  DRY  DOCK, 


CO M BIN  ED  WITH 

A  PERMANENT  STONE  BASIN  AND  PLATFORM, 


AND     CONNECTED  WITH 


LEVEL    BEDWAYS,    SLIDING    WAYS,    AND   HOUSED  SLIPS,  FOR 
REPAIRING,  LAUNCHING,  AND  LAYING  UP  IN 
ORDINARY,  THE  SHIPS  OF  THE 

UNITED  STATES  NAVY. 


NEW-YORK: 

PRINTED  BY  P.  MILLER,  102  BROADWAY,  NEAR  WALL  STREET. 

1845. 


Avery  Architectural  and  Fine  Arts  Library 
Gift  of  Seymour  B.  Durst  Old  York  Library 


OVOkkS  (bo 


EXPLANATION  OF  THE  PLATE. 


A.  A.    Represents  a  part  of  the  Navy  Yard. 

B.  The  Face  Wall  or  Bulk  Head  of  Navy  Yard. 

C.  A  Pier  extending  out  at  right  angles  175  feet. 

D.  The  Stone  Basin  and  Platform  250  feet  square. 

E.  is  the  Sectional  Dock  with  a  ship  elevated  on  it. 

F.  F.  F.  is  three  Sett  Ways  on  three  sides  of  the  Basin. 

G.  is  a  Hydraulic  Cylinder  for  drawing  off  a  ship. 

H.  A  Ship  House  covering  three  sett  ways. 

I.  A  ship  drawn  off  the  Docks  on  the  ways. 

J.  is  the  Keel  of  a  new  ship  laid  on  the  ways  for  building. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2013 


http://archive.org/details/briefsketchofplaOOdaki 


SECTIONAL  FLOATING  DRY  DOCK. 


The  Sectional  Floating  Dry  Dock  is  a  recent  invention, 
for  which  several  Patents  have  been  issued.  It  has  been 
in  operation  about  five  years  in  the  City  of  New  York,  and 
has  acquired  the  entire  confidence  of  every  Shipbuilder, 
Shipwright,  and  all  persons  engaged  in  Shipping  or  Steam 
Boats,  who  have  had  occasion  to  make  use  of  it,  and  near- 
ly all  of  whom  have  voluntarily  come  forward  and  signed 
certificates  declaring  its  decided  and  unquestioned  superi- 
ority over  all  other  plans  of  Docks.  During  the  time  it 
has  been  in  operation,  about  1600  vessels,  Ships  and  Steam 
Boats,  have  been  raised  and  repaired  upon  it  without  the 
slightest  accident  either  to  the  vessel  or  Dock,  and  it  has 
given  universal  satisfaction  both  to  the  owners  and  ship- 
wrights. Among  the  ships  raised,  have  been  the  Steam- 
ship Great  Britain,  the  largest  Steamer  in  the  world  and 
of  tonnage  greater  than  a  Ship  of  the  Line,  the  Mexican 
War  Steamers  Montezuma  and  Gaudaloupe,  the  merchant 
ships  Henry  Clay,  Queen  of  the  West,  John  R.  Skiddy, 
Ackbar,  Thos.  W.  Perkins,  Iowa,  Queen  Victoria,  U.  S. 
Sloop  of  War  Vincennes,  and  numerous  other  first  class 
ships,  also  the  Steam  Boats,  Natchez,  Diamond,  Albany, 
North  America,  South  America,  Rhode  Island,  De  Witt 
Clinton,  Utica,  Mohegan,  Knickerbocker,  Troy,  Massa- 
chusetts and  many  others,  all  with  the  most  perfect  ease, 
safety  and  satisfaction  to  their  owners. 

A  recent  improvement  has  been  made  in  the  manner 
of  using  this  Dock  by  uniting  or  combining  it  with  a  per- 


6 


manent  Stone  Basin,  connected  with  Bed  and  Sliding 
Ways  with  a  view  of  adapting  it  to  the  service  of  the  Na- 
vy, for  the  purpose  of  repairing,  rebuilding  or  laying  up 
in  ordinary,  vessels  of  War,  which  in  the  opinion  of  Me- 
chanics and  Engineers  competent  to  judge,  renders  it  su- 
perijr  and  much  more  efficient  and  convenient  than  the 
excavated  Stone  Dock,  or  any  other  plan  known.  The 
mode  of  using  the  Dock  will  be  hereafter  explained. 

In  Great  Britain  the  want  of  some  such  plan  for  raising 
Ships  and  laying  them  up  in  ordinary,  in  Ship  houses  a- 
bove  the  level  of  the  water,  has  long  been  felt  and  ac- 
knowledged. 

In  order  to  provide  for  the  protection  of  large  ships,  a 
great  number  of  Granite  Dry  Docks  have  been  built,  at 
an  enormous  expense,  (though  much  less  than  they  would 
have  cost  in  this  country,  owing  to  the  great  rise  and  fall 
of  the  tide  there,)  and  such  of  them  as  are  not  required 
for  building  and  repairs,  are  covered  with  roofs  and  used 
for  laying  up  some  of  the  ships-of-the-line,  that  are  in  or- 
dinary, though  the  number  is,  as  yet  inadequate  to  pro- 
vide except  for  a  small  portion  of  them.  The  importance 
which  is  attached  to  this  subject  in  that  country,  whose 
experience  in  naval  matters,  will  be  conceded  by  all  to 
be  worthy  of  profound  consideration,  is  evinced  by  the 
following  extracts  from  the  Encyclopedia  Britannica,  vol. 
8,  pp.  77,  &c. 

"  Another  very  material  improvement,  recently  introduced  into  His  Majesty's 
Dock  Yards,  is  that  of  covering  the  Dry  Docks  and  Building  Slips  with  roofs. 
The  rapid  decay  of  our  ships  of  war,  by  that  species  of  disease  known  by  the 
name  of  dry  rot,  attracted  very  general  attention;  its  effects  were  well  known,  but 
a  variety  of  opinions  were  entertained  as  to  its  causes  and  its  cure.  It  was  quite 
obvious,  however,  that  exclusion  of  air  and  moisture,  were  the  two  great  operating 
causes  in  giving  activity  to  the  progress  of  the  disease,  and  that  a  ship  in  dock 
stripped  of  her  planking,  and  open  to  the  weather  in  every  part,  alternately  exposed 
to  frost,  rain,  wind  and  sunshine,  must  at  least  have  her  timbers  differently  affec- 
ted, some  swelled  and  water  soaked,  and  others  shrunk  with  heat,  and  others  rif- 
ted with  wind  and  frost;  and  if  closed  up  with  planking  in  this  state,  might  be  ex- 
pected at  no  great  distance  of  time,  to  exhibit  symtoms  of  decay.  The  workmen, 
too,  in  the  open  Docks  and  Slips,  suffered  from  the  vicissitudes  ofth§  weather,  no 


7 


less  than  the  ships,  and  their  labor  was  frequently  suspended,  to  the  great  detri- 
ment of  the  naval  service.  The  measure  of  roofing  over  the  Docks  and  Slips,  had 
long  and  repeatedly  been  suggested,  but,  either  from  prejudice  or  false  economy, 
it  was  only  very  recently  carried  into  practice,  and  is  now  almost  universal  in  all 
the  Yards.  " 

Again:  "  These  covers  have  been  in  use  in  Venice,  from  time  immemorial,  and 
Mr.  Strange,  the  British  Consul  at  that  port,  in  1792  says,  that  he  saw  twenty-two 
large  ships  laid  up  there  under  covered  Slips,  some  of  which  had  lain  there  for 
sixty  years.  " 

Again  :  "  The  advantages  which  Slips  are  supposed  to  possess  over  Dry  Docks,  are 
many  and  important.  They  can  be  constructed  at  one  twentieth  part  of  the  ex- 
pense; they  occupy  less  space;  they  can  be  constructed  on  a  steep  or  a  shelving 
shore,  and  ships  can  be  hauled  upon  them  either  in  spring  or  neap  tides;  whereas 
a  Dry  Dock  can  only  be  made  in  particular  situations,  and  when  made,  ships  can 
only  be  docked  and  undocked,  in  certain  states  of  the  tides,  from  which  circum- 
stance considerable  delay  and  inconvenience  are  frequently  experienced.  It 
should  be  recollected,  however,  that  a  large  ship  must  necessarily  go  into  a  Dock 
preparatory  to  her  being  hauled  out  in  the  Slip.  It  has  been  considered  not  at  all 
improbable,  as  was  suggested  sometime  ago  by  Mr.  Perring,  that  the  whole  Ordi- 
nary may  hereafter  be  laid  on  Slips,  which,  if  housed  over,  would  unquestionably  be 
the  best  means  of  increasing  their  durability,  and  preserving  them  from  partial  decay. 
Nor  is  it  certain  that  in  the  end,  it  would  not  be  the  most  economical.  " 

It  will  be  seen  that  it  is  fully  admitted  in  England,  that 
many  serious  objections  exist  against  the  present  system 
of  Excavated  Docks  which  were  constructed  at  a  time 
when  no  other  method  was  known  for  taking  ships  out  of 
the  water.  These  defects  we  now  propose  to  remedy  in 
a  great  measure  by  the  introduction  of  a  new  plan  of 
Dock,  Basin,  Bed  and  Sliding  Ways. 

Similar  views  were  entertained  by  President  Jefferson, 
who  in  his  Message  to  Congress,  in  December,  1802,  says  : 
"  Presuming  it  will  be  deemed  expedient  to  expend  an- 
nually a  convenient  sum  toward  improving  the  Naval 
defence,  which  our  situation  may  require,  I  cannot  but 
recommend  that  the  first  appropriations  for  that  purpose, 
may  go  to  the  saving  of  what  we  already  possess.  No  care, 
no  attention,  can  preserve  vessels  from  rapid  decay,  which 
lie  in  water  and  exposed  to  the  sun.  These  decays  require 
great  and  constant  repairs,  and  will  consume,  if  continu- 
ed, a  great  portion  of  the  moneys  destined  to  Naval  pur- 
poses. To  avoid  this  waste  of  our  resources,  it  is  pro- 
posed to  add  to  our  Navy  Yard  here,  a  Dock,  within 


8 


which  our  present  vessels  may  be  laid  up  dry  and  under 
cover  from  the  sun.  Under  these  circumstances ,  experience 
proves  that  icorks  of  wood  will  remain  scarcely  at  all  affec- 
ted by  time.  Similar  depositories  for  laying  up,  as  well 
as  building  and  repairing  vessels,  may  hereafter  be  under- 
taken at  other  Navy  Yards." 

The  method  of  raising  the  ships  to  the  requisite  eleva- 
tion, for  protection  in  housed  slips,  on  an  inclined  plane, 
in  addition  to  the  difficulty  of  applying  the  requisite 
mechanical  force  to  accomplish  it,  is  liable  to  the  still 
more  serious  objection,  that  when  they  are  to  be  let  into 
the  water  again,  they  must  be  launched  in  the  ordinary 
way.  The  evils  and  dangers  attendant  upon  launching, 
are  so  serious,  that  ships  of  the  first  class  are  commonly 
constructed  at  present  in  Dry  Docks,  in  England,  and  af- 
terwards floated  out  by  opening  the  flood  gates*  In  this 
country,  the  Board  of  Navy  Commissioners  have  taken 
the  same  view  of  the  subject,  and  recognised  the  injuries 
which  result  from  launching  ships  of  the  first  magni- 
tude.! 

It  will  therefore  at  once  be  admitted,  that  a  plan,  which 
will  raise  vessels  from  their  floating  level,  wholly  above 
the  surface  of  the  water,  and  deliver  them  upon  the  sur- 
face of  the  dry  land,  and  which,  with  an  efficiency  almost 
unlimited,  can  raise  one  ship  after  another,  till  it  delivers 
a  whole  fleet  upon  the  shore,  and  is,  at  the  same  time, 
cheaper  in  its  construction,  more  convenient,  and  better 
in  its  operation  than  any  other  known  method,  will  ren- 
der services  to  the  naval  marine  of  the  highest  impor- 
tance, by  preserving  the  maratime  power  of  the  nation  in 
a  state  of  efficiency,  ready  for  active  use,  and  saving  con- 
tinual outlays  for  the  building  of  new  ships  to  take  the 
place  of  those  that  decay. 

Such  a  plan  is  provided  by  the  SECTIONAL  FLOAT- 

*  Vide  Encyc.  Brit.,  vol.  13,  p.  55.  t  U.  S.  Navy  Com.  Report,  to  19th  Con- 
gress, (1826.) 


4 

9 


ING  DRY  DOCK,  used  in  connection  with  its  perma- 
nent Platform,  Basin,  Bed  ways,  and  Housed  Slips.  It 
can  be  built  with  all  its  appurtenances,  in  one  fifth  part 
of  the  time  usually  required  in  erecting  one  stone  dock, 
and  at  much  less  expense,  and  in  point  of  efficiency  for 
actual  use,  it  is  equivalent  to  a  number  of  Stone  Docks. 
Indeed,  it  may  be  said  witli  truth,  that  one  Dock  upon 
this  plan,  is  superior  in  all  its  respects  to  the  whole  com- 
bined system  of  English,  Dry  Docks,  for  their  naval  estab- 
lishment, which  lias  cost  them  many  millions  of  dollars. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  give  a  written  description  of  the 
Dock  and  working  model,  as  the  accompanying  plan  will 
explain  its  operation.  It  should  however  be  stated,  that 
the  Dock  is  lowered,  the  ship  to  be  raised  is  floated  over 
the  keel  blocks,  and  the  water  is  exhausted  out  of  the 
Dock,  which  rises  or  floats  above  the  level  of  the  w7ater 
with  the  ship  upon  it. 

Having  supposed  the  vessel  elevated  entirely  above  the 
surface  of  the  water,  upon  a  floating  structure,  which  will 
draw  about  ten  feet  of  water  when  thus  raised,  and 
capable  of  being  easily  moved  with  its  burden  in  any 
required  direction,  let  the  reader  imagine  a  basin  large 
enough  to  turn  the  Dock  around  within  it,  excavated  in 
the  shore  contiguous,  with  a  permanent  level  platform  of 
piles,  concrete  or  masonry,  constructed  in  its  bottom,  al- 
lowing the  water  to  flow  over  it  a  sufficient  depth,  say 
ten  feet.  It  will  readily  be  perceived,  that  the  Dock, 
with  the  vessel  on  it,  may  be  floated  into  the  basin,  and 
allowed,  by  filling  the  tanks  with  w7ater,  to  settle  and 
rest  upon  the  platform,  whfch  will  afford  a  stable  and  per- 
manent foundation,  to  sustain  it  beyond  the  reach  of  ac- 
cidents. Let  him  suppose  that  a  number  of  level  bedways 
are  laid  upon  the  shore  at  right  angles  to  any  of  the  three 
sides  of  this  basin;  that  the  Dock,  with  the  vessel  on  it, 
being  easily  turned  around  in  the  water,  is  made  to  settle 
2 


10 


down  in  the  direction  of,  and  in  connexion  with,  any  one 
of  these  bedways,  at  the  option  of  the  superintendent ;  that 
the  bed  way  selected,  is  extended  from  the  shore  upon  the 
top  of  the  Dock,  directly  under  the  ship;  that  a  cradle  is 
made  under  the  ship's  bottom,  to  which  sliding  ways 
are  firmly  attached  ;  and  that,  by  a  mechanical  power 
fixed  upon  the  shore,  or  in  any  convenient  manner,  the 
vessel  is  hauled  off  from  the  Dock  on  a  level,  by  the  cra- 
dle, into  a  ship  house  on  the  solid  earth,  from  which  it 
may  be  delivered  back  again  upon  the  Dock,  at  pleasure. 
The  reader  will  then  understand  how  one  vessel  after  an- 
other, being  first  raised  on  the  Sectional  Floating  Dock, 
is  delivered  arid  carried  out  upon  the  surface  of  the  earth, 
or  removed  back  again  upon  the  top  of  the  Dock,  to  be 
let  down  into  the  water. 

In  addition  to  the  number  of  ships  that  could  thus  be 
delivered  on  the  ways,  at  the  same  time,  the  Dock  would 
be  at  liberty  to  raise  and  hold  ships  requiring  temporary 
repairs,  and  is  alone,  independent  of  its  connexion  with 
the  basin,  platform,  and  bedways,  far  more  efficient  than 
a  Stone  Dock,  as  it  can  take  two  or  more  vessels  upon  it 
at  the  same  time. 

A  more  efficient,  perfect,  safe  and  easy  manner  of  de- 
livering ships  out  of  the  water  can  scarcely  be  conceived, 
and  it  is  allowed  by  all  practical  mechanics,  (whose  ex- 
perience gives  their  judgements  a  weight,  which  that  of 
the  mere  theorist  is  not  entitled  to,)  to  be  the  best,  most 
convenient  and  cheapest  method  ever  before  devised;  ob- 
viating all  the  objections  against  both  Floating  and  Stone 
Docks,  combining  the  convenience  of  the  light,  flexibility, 
air,  and  room  of  the  one,  with  the  permanency  and  solidity 
of  the  other,  and  presenting  a  facility  and  efficiency  for 
taking  out  a  number  of  ships  at  the  same  time,  and  safely 
launching  large  ships  or  steamers,  peculiar  to  itself  alone, 
and  hitherto  wholly  unknown. 


11 


By  the  aid  of  this  Dock,  not  one  ship  alone,  as  in  a 
Stone  Dock,  but  a  whole  fleet,  could,  one  after  another 
at  a  small  expense,  be  securely  placed  upon  the  stocks  in 
a  Navy  Yard,  or  laid  up  in  ordinary  in  ship  houses  where 
they  would  be  perfectly  protected  against  dry  rot  and  eve- 
ry other  source  of  decay.  By  its  aid,  the  longest  steam- 
ers and  the  heaviest  ships  of  the  line,  could  be  safely 
launched  without  incurring  the  risk  of  straining,  or  hog- 
ging, or  wrinkling  their  copper,  while  in  Great  Britain, 
vessels  of  this  kind  are  usually  constructed  in  Stone  Docks 
to  avoid  this  serious  evil. 

It  is  claimed  that  this  plan  of  Dry  Dock,  is  greatly  su- 
perior to  the  Excavated  Stone  Dock  and  any  other  Dock 
whatever,  for  the  following  among  other  reasons,  viz: 

1.  It  presents  a  pliant,  flexible,  and  yielding  platform, 
capable  of  being  made  of  any  required  strength  by  trus- 
sing, which  conforms  as  soon  as  the  vessel  is  brought  to 
its  bearing,  to  the  shape  of  the  keel  and  bottom;  being 
upheld  itself  by  the  upw  ard  pressure  of  the  water,  more 
or  less  power  being  applied  by  each  section,  as  required 
by  the  displacement  of  the  ship. 

2.  It  brings  the  vessel's  bottom  up  fully  into  the  light 
and  air  and  affords  a  clear,  broad,  and  well  lighted  plat- 
form from  stem  to  stern,  enabling  the  wrorkmen  to  do 
their  work  from  fifteen  to  twTenty  per  cent,  cheaper  than 
on  any  other  dock. 

3.  It  is  capable  of  extension,  contraction,  and  division, 
adapting  itself  to  the  length  of  the  vessel,  and  forming  on 
the  instant,  two  or  more  separate  docks,  each  indepen- 
dent and  perfect  in  itself;  so  that  putting  all  the  sections 
together,  it  is  capable  of  raising  the  largest  ship-of-the-line, 
or  separating  them  into  two  or  more  berths,  it  can  at  the 
same  time,  take  up  twTo  vessels  of  a  smaller  class,  as  a 
frigate  and  sloop-of-war;  an  advantage,  which  is  of  much 
moment  when  it  is  considered  that  the  greatest  portion  of 


12 


vessels  in  the  Navy  are  of  the  latter  class,  and  which  ren- 
ders a  Dock  of  this  kind  equal  to  two  on  any  other  plan  ; 
and  when  used  in  connexion  with  hed  and  sliding  ways, 
its  efficiency  is  increased  immensely,  and  can  he  carried 
to  any  desired  extent. 

4.  It  is  easily  taken  out  of  the  water  to  he  repaired, 
one  section  beii.g  raised  on  two  others  for  that  purpose; 
but  other  floating  docks,  though  much  more  liable  to  get 
out  of  repair,  in  consequence  of  t  he  immense  strain  on  an 
inflexible  platform,  cannot  be  repaired  without  great  diffi- 
culty even  on  a  small  scale,  and  not  at  all  on  a  large  one. 

5.  A  Dock  on  this  plan  can  be  towed  together  or  in 
sections  from  place  to  place,  at  a  trifling  cost,  and  in  case 
of  danger  from  the  enemy,  it  could  be  sunk  in  deep  wa- 
ter or  removed  to  a  {  lace  of  safety,  and  after  the  danger 
is  over,  it  could  be  raised  and  returned  to  its  pjsition. 

6.  The  best  test  of  the  simplicity  of  all  the  machinery 
which  has  been  devised  and  applied  to  obtain  the  above 
important  results^  is  to  be  found  in  the  fact,  attested  by 
the  certificate  of  the  Superintendent,  who  has  worked  the 
Dock  ever  since  it  was  built,  that  no  accident  of  any  kind 
has  ever  occurred,  either  to  the  Dock  or  to  any  vessel,  nor 
has  the  slightest  injury  happened  to  any  part  of  the  ma- 
chinery. 

On  this  Dock  a  ship  is  raised  on  a  large,  tight,  dry 
platform  above  the  level  of  the  water,  and  held  in  exactly 
the  same  position  as  when  afloat,  in  the  most  firm  and 
secure  manner,  and  presents,  (in  the  language  of  an  intel- 
ligent shipbuilder,)  a  most  perfect  una1  convenient  Ship 
Yard  afloat.  Every  part  of  a  ship  can  be  thoroughly  ex- 
amined, and  lays  as  convenient  for  the  mechanic  to  make 
his  repairs,  as  if  she  was  on  the  stocks  in  a  ship  yard,  and 
it  is  admitted  by  shipwrights,  that  a  ship  can,  from  the 
convenient  manner  in  which  she  lays,  be  repaired  at  least 
15  or  20  per  cent,  less  than  in  any  other  plan  of  Floating 


13 


or  Dry  Dock.  It  will  readily  be  perceived  that,  in  an 
Excavated  Dock,  the  ship  i 

surface,  in  a  very  ine  mveriient  p  i  uechanic 
has  to  make  his  repairs  in  a  dajk,  datnp,  unwholesome 
place.  As  evidence  of  the  convenience  of  this  Dock,  and 
the  great  facility  and  despatch  it  affords  for  raising, 
working  and  making  repairs  on  ships,  one  simple  fact 
may  here  he  stated. 

The  steamboat  Knickerbocker,  one  of  the  longest  in 
the  world,  being  306  feet  in  length,  and  1000  tons  burden, 
was  raised,  cleaned,  and  let  down  by  this  Dock,  in  seven 
hours,  a  despatch  in  docking  unprecedented  in  this  or  any 
other  country.  Previous  to  raising  this  boat,  a  line  of 
sights  was  placed  across  the  deck,  about  ten  feet  apart 
from  stem  to  stern,  which  has  also  been  done  with  other 
long  boats  raised,  and  without,  in  any  instance,  being 
changed  from  a  straight  line  in  raising  or  lowering  the 
boats  and  every  door  would  open  and  shut  without  bind- 
ing as  freely  as  when  the  boat  was  afloat  in  the  water, 
this  is  accomplished  by  exhausting  more  water  from  one 
than  another  section,  to  correspond  with  the  displace- 
ment of  the  boat  wThen  afloat. 

From  two  to  three  days  is  the  usual  time  required  for 
raising,  stripping,  caulking,  recoppering  and  lowering  in- 
to the  water  packet  ships  of  the  first  class,  a  despatch 
attained  by  the  short  time  required  in  Docking  the  Ship, 
and  the  facilities  afforded  the  workmen. 

It  is  presumed  that  the  memorials  and  certificates  an- 
nexed hereto,  signed  by  every  shipbuilder  and  all  the  ship- 
wrights in  the  city  of  New- York,  but  two,  (who  are  in- 
terested in  other  docks.)  and  by  distinguished  houses  in- 
terested in  shipping,  together  with  the  certificates  of  own- 
ers of  steamboats  and  eminent  civil  engineers,  will  be 
sufficient  1o  satisfy  any  unprejudiced  and  candid  mind  of 
the  great  superiority  and  utility  of  this  Dock,  and  its  pre- 


14 


eminent  claims  upon  the  attention  of  Congress.  They 
are  signed  by  men  whose  names,  as  eminent  and  skilful 
shipwrights,  will  be  recognised  by  all  with  respect  and 
pride.  Among  those  who  have  signed  the  recommenda- 
tions are  Messrs.  Westervelt  &  Mackey,  the  builders 
of  the  splendid  Havre  packets,  and  more  lately  of  those 
models  of  beauty  and  skill,  the  Ashburton,  Princi  Albert, 
and  Victoria  ;  Messrs.  Brown  &  Bell,  known  as  the 
builders  of  the  celebrated  London  packets,  the  Spanish 
Steamers,  and  Queen  of  the  West;  Messrs.  Webb  &  Al- 
len, builders  of  the  wel  l  known  Liverpool  packets ; 
Messrs.  Smith  &  Dimon,  builders  of  the  splendid  Knick- 
erbocker steamboat,  and  a  number  of  merchant  ships  ; 
Messrs.  Bishop  &  Simonson,  also,  Jabez  Williams,  well 
known  as  extensive  and  skilful  shipbuilders ;  William 
H.  Brown,  well  known  as  the  builder  of  the  Russian 
steamer,  Kamschatka,  and  the  Empire;  Divine  Burtis, 
builder  of  some  of  the  North  River  steamboats  ;  and  Her- 
bert Lawrence,  well  known  as  the  builder  of  a  large  num- 
ber of  L.  I.  Sound  steamboats.  Messrs.  Whitlock  & 
Berrien,  Webb,  Robertson  &  Co.,  and  Bucknam  &  Casi- 
laer,  are  well  known  as  very  extensive  shipwrights  and 
of  great  practical  experience  in  raising  ships,  and  work- 
ing upon  all  kinds  of  docks,  The  well  known  names  of 
Jas.  A.  Stevens,  Esq.,  Cornelius  Vanderbilt,  Esq.,  and  J. 
Newton,  Esq.,  will  also  be  recognised  as  large  steamboat 
owners,  and  men  of  great  practical  knowledge,  and  who 
have  had  a  number  of  the  largest  class  of  steamers  repair- 
ed upon  this  Dock.  The  opinion  of  all  these  experienced 
and  practical  shipbuilders  and  shipwrights,  is  entitled  to 
great  weight,  and  their  character  as  such  would  not  suf- 
fer by  a  comparison  with  that  of  any  other  class  of  naval 
architects,  in  this  or  any  other  country. 

By  the  annexed  certificates,  it  will  be  seen  that  most 
of  the  foregoing  facts  are  strongly  substantiated  by  a  class 


15 


of  men,  who  will  at  once  be  admitted  to  be  the  best  judges 
of  the  subject,  viz  :  the  shipbuilders,  shipwrights,  and 
owners  of  ships  anil  steamboats,  who  are  thorough  prac- 
tical mechanics,  or  have  a  deep  interest  in  the  subject, 
and  who  have  seen,  tried,  and  thoroughly  proved  and  test- 
ed this  Dock,  and  who  have  been  conversant  with  it  from 
the  time  the  first  section  was  launched  in  1840.  As  all 
the  shipbuilders,  shipwrights,  and  most  of  the  shipown- 
ers in  New- York  have  signed  the  certificates,  it  cannot  be 
attributed  to  party  influence  or  favour,  but  is  a  voluntary 
and  significant  tribute  to  the  vast  superiority  of  this  Dock, 
by  the  whole  shipping  interest  of  New-York. 

A  statement  is  annexed  in  the  appendix  exhibiting  the 
saving  to  the  Government,  by  constructing  a  floating  in- 
stead of  a  Stone  Dock,  and  showing  that  economy  is 
united  with  great  improvement,  and  cheapness  with  su- 
perior merit. 


A  P  P  E  N  D  I  X. 


(A.) 

List  of  shipbuilders  in  ths  City  of  New-York,  engaged  in  business  at 
the  present  time  : 

WESTER VELT  &  MACKEY, 
HERBERT  LAWRENCE, 
JABEZ  WILLIAMS, 
BROWN  &  HELL, 
WEBB  &  ALLEN, 
SMITH  &  DEMON, 
BISHOP  &  SIMONSON, 
DIVINE  BURTIS  &  CO., 
WILLIAM  H.  BROWN. 

List  of  shipwrights  in  the  City  of  New-York,  engaged  in  business  at 
the  present  time  : 

WEBB,  ROBERTSON,  &  CO., 
BUCK  NAM  &  CASILAER, 
WHITLOCK  &  BERRIEN, 
IRVINE  &  CLARK, 
PETER  MACNAMARA, 
FRANCIS  SECOR  &  CO., 

We  hereby  certify,  that  the  above  are  lists  of  leading  and  principal 
shipwrights  and  shipbuilders,  engaged  in  business  in  the  city  of  New- 
York  at  the  present  time. 

(Signed)  GRINNELL,  MINTURN,  &  CO. 

The  above  list  is  introduced  to  show,  that  all  the  principal  shipbuilders 
and  shipwrights  have  signed  certificates  in  favour  of  the  Dock,  and  pre- 
ferring it  to  any  other  plan  of  a  dock. 

(B-) 

To  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States,  in 

Congress  assembled. 

The  memorial  of  the  undersigned  shipbuilders  and  shipwrights,  resi- 
dent and  in  business  in  the  City  of  New-York,  respectfully  represents  : 
that  your  memorialists  are  well  acquainted  with  the  several  plans  of  Dry 
Docks  for  raising  vessels  for  coppering  and  repairs  :  that  among  the  se- 
veral establishments  for  this  purpose,  at  present  in  operation  in  this  City, 
the  one  known  as  the  Sectional  Floating  Dry  Dock,  at  the  foot  of  Rut- 
gers-street,  possesses  by  far  the  greatest  elevating  capacity  :  that  we  have 
repeatedly  had  vessels  repaired  upon  it  to  our  entire  satisfaction  :  that  we 
have  no  hesitation  in  declaring  it  in  every  respect  a  superior  Dock,  and 
most  admirably  adapted  to  accomplish  the  object  for  which  it  was  con- 
structed :  that  merchant  ships  of  the  largest  class,  have  been  raised  upon 


17 


it  in  the  most  satisfactory  manner,  and  that  vvc  entertain  no  doubt  that  the 
elevating  power  of  this  kind  of  Dock  can  be  extended  with  perfect  safety 
to  a  capacity  of  raising  a  line-of-battle  ship  :  that  its  sectional  arrange- 
ment gives  the  structure  the  ability  to  be  extended  to  accommodate  the 
largest  steamers,  and  embrace  their  greatest  width  without  endangering 
its  strength,  and  from  its  flexible  platform,  enables  it  to  conform  to  the 
shape  of  the  vessel,  and  lift  it  equally  upon  its  bottom,  and  endues  it  with 
the  important  advantage  of  being  divisible  into  two  separate  Docks,  to 
raise  two  vessels  at  a  time,  and  perform  the  service  of  two  independent 
Docks  on  any  other  p  an  :  anc1  that  on  these  accounts  and  others,  we 
prefer  it  to  the  plan  of  any  other  Floating  Dock  known  to  us.  We, 
therefore,  cheerfully  recommend  it  to  the  Government,  as  a  useful  Dock 
fur  the  service  of  the  Navy  ;  and  your  memorialists,  as  in  duty  bound, 
will  ever  pray,  &c. 

New-Yoiik,  January  2,  1543. 

WEBB,  ROBERTSON,  &  CO.,  Shipwrights. 

C.  &  R.  POILLON,  do. 

BUCKNAM  &  CASILEAR,  do. 

JNO.  HARRISON,  do. 

WESTER VELT  &  MACKEY,  Shipbuilders. 

HERBERT  LAWRENCE,  do. 

WHITLOCK  &  BERRIEN,  Shipwrights. 

DIVINE  BURTIS  &  CO.,  Shipwrights  and  builders, 

BROWN  &  BELL,  Shipbuilders. 

WEBB  &  ALLEN,  do. 

WM.  H.  BROWN,  do. 

DEINIKE  &  KING,  Shipwrights  and  sparmakers. 

BAYLES  &  BROWN,     do.  do. 

BISHOP  &  SIMONSON,  Shipbuilders. 

IRWIN  &  CLARK,  Shipwrights  and  builders.. 

W3I.  RODMAN,  Shipwright. 

C.  EDGAR  SMITH,  Shipwright. 

GEO.  A.  SAUNDERS,  do. 

ALLEN  GORHAM,  do. 

FICKET  &  THOMAS,  Shipbuilders, 

(C.) 

To  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States,. 

The  Memorial  of  the  undersigned,  ship  owners  and  interested  in 
shipping,  resident  and  in  business  in  the  City  of  New-York,  respect- 
fully represents  :  That  your  memorialists  are  well  acquainted  with 
the  several  plans  of  Dry  Docks,  for  raising  vessels  for  coppering  and  re- 
pairs :  that  among  the  several  establishments  for  this  purpose,  at  present 
in  operation  in  this  City,  the  one  known  as  the  Sectional  Floating  Dry 
Dock,  foot  of  Rutgers-street,  E.  R.,  possesses  by  far  the  greatest  eleva- 
ting capacity  :  that  we  have  no  hesitation  in  declaring  it  in  every  respect 
a  superior  Dock,  and  most  admirably  adapted  to  accomplish  the  object 
for  which  it  was  constructed  :  that  merchant  ships  of  the  largest  class 

3.  '• 


18 


have  been  raised  upon  it  in  the  most  satisfactory  manner,  and  that  we 
entertain  no  doubt  that  the  elevating  power  of  this  kind  of  Dock,  can  be 
extended  with  perfect  safety  to  a  capacity  of  raising  a  line-of  battle  ship  : 
that  it  raises  the  vessel  up  more  fully  into  the  light  and  air,  and  affords 
the  shipwright  more  room  and  better  access  to  the  vessel's  bottom,  than 
any  other  Dock  ;  that  its  sectional  arrangement  gives  the  structure  the 
ability  to  be  extended  to  accommodate  the  longest  steamers,  and  em- 
brace their  greatest  width,  without  endangering  its  strength;  and  from 
its  flexible  platform,  enables  it  to  conform  to  the  shape  of  the  vessel  and 
lift  equally  upon  its  bottom,  and  endues  it  with  the  important  advantage 
of  being  divisible  into  two  separate  Docks,  to  raise  two  vessels  at  a  time, 
and  perform  the  service  of  two  separate  Docks  on  an)  other  plan  :  that 
on  these  accounts  and  others,  we  prefer  it  to  any  other  plan  of  Dry  Dock 
that  has  come  to  our  knowledge.  We,  therefore,  ch<erfully  recommend 
it  to  the  Government  as  a  useful  Dock  for  the  service  of  the  Navy,  and 
your  memorialists  will  ever  pray,  &.c. 
New-York,  Dec.  29th,  1842. 

GRINNELL,  MINTURN,  &  CO.,  Agents  and  part  owners  of  the 
new  lines  of  London  and  Liverpool  packet  ships. 

CHAS.  M.  MARSHALL,  Agent  and  part  owner  of  the  Old  line  of 
Liverpool  oackets. 

ROBERT  KERMIT,  Agent  and  part  owner  of  the  Old  lines  of  Liv- 
erpool and  London  packets. 

RICHARD  IRVIN,  Agent  and  part  owner  of  the  Great  Western  line 
of  Atlantic  steamers. 

DUNHAM  &  DIMON,  Agents  and  part  owners  of  the  New  Orleans, 
Mobile  and  Charleston  packets. 

C.  BOLTON,  FOX,  &  LIVINGSTON,  Agents  and  part  owners 
of  the  Havre  line  of  packet  ships. 

BARCLAY  &  LIVINGSTON,  Agents  of  the  Cunard  line  of  At- 
lantic steamers. 

GOODHUE  &  CO.,  Agents  and  part  owners  of  the  Old  line  Liver- 
pool packets. 

JOHN  GRISWOLD,  Agent  and  part  owner  of  the  London  Old  line 
of  packets. 

WOODHULL  &  MINTURN,  Agents  of  the  Liverpool  line. 

JOHN  ELVVELL  &  CO.,  Agents  and  part  owners  of  the  Mobile 
and  New  Orleans  packets. 

STURGES  &  CLEARMAN,  Agents  and  part  owners  of  the  Sa- 
vannah, Norfolk,  and  Mobile  packets. 

JOHN  OGDEN,  Agent  and  part  owner  of  the  Richmond  and  other 
Southern  packets. 

POST  &  PHILLIPS,  Agents  and  part  owners  of  the  Apalachicola 
and  other  packets. 

CENTER  &  CO.,  Agents  and  owners  of  Mobile  packets. 

JOHNSON  &  LOWDEN,  Agents  and  owners  of  New  Orleans 
packets. 

SAMUEL  THOMPSON,  Agent  and  owner  of  Liverpool  packets. 
ABRAHAM  BELL  &  CO.,  Agents  of  Transatlantic  Steam  Navi- 
gation CO. 


19 


ROCHE,  BROTHERS.  &  CO.,  Agents  of  Liverpool  packets. 
JACOB  HARVEY,  President  of  Washington  Marine  Insurance  Co. 
Z.  COOK,  Jr.,  President  Mutual  Safety  Insurance  Company. 


GORDON  &  TALBOT,  Shipowners. 

TAYLOR  &  MERRILL,  do. 

S.  E.  GLOVER,  do. 

WM.  M.  PECK,  do. 

TALBOT,  OLYPHANT.  &  CO.,  do. 

CARY  &  CO.,  do. 

BUCK  &  CO.,  do. 

JOSIAH  MACY  &  SONS.  do. 

H.  &  J.  B.  MURRAY,  do. 

A.  G.  &  A.  W.  BENSON,  do. 
PETER  J.  NEVIUS  &  SONS,  do. 
DAVIS,  BROOKS,  &  CO.,  do. 
JOHN  B.  LAS  A  LA  &  CO.,  do. 
J.  FOULKE  &  SONS,  do. 
HICKS  &  CO.,  do. 
E.  DUNSCOMB  &  BECKWITH,  do. 
JOHN  PETERS  &  CO.,  do. 
ALLEN  &  PAXON,  do. 
MOSES  TAYLOR,  do. 
PRATT  &  BURR,  do. 
JONATHAN  HILLMAN,  do. 
P.  J.  FARNHAM  &  CO.,  do. 
SLATE,  GARDNER,  &  HOWLAND,  do. 
J.  &  N.  BRIGGS,  do. 
DEPEYSTER  &  WHITMARSH,  do. 
NEVY  YORK  INSURANCE  COMPANY, 
AMERICAN  INSURANCE  COMPANY, 

B.  McEVERS,  Ship  owner. 
A.  B.  NEILSON,  do. 
HOWES,  GODFREY,  &  ROBINSON,  do. 
PETER  HARMONY'S  NEPHEWS,  do. 

R.  P.  BUCK,  do. 

JAMES  HENRY,  do. 

RUSSELL  &  COPELAND,  do. 

EVERETT  &  BATTELIE,  do. 

BRETT  &  VOSE,  do. 


AND  MANY  OTHERS. 

(D.) 

I  hereby  certify,  that  I  had  the  large  packet  ship,  "Ville  de  Lyon,"  ta- 
ken out  a  short  time  since,  on  five  of  the  seven  sections  of  the  Floating 
Dry  Dock,  foot  of  Rutgers  street,  E  R.,  in  a  manner  perfectly  satisfac- 
tory. She  was  raised  with  great  facility,  without  the  least  strain,  the 
Dock  conforming  to  the  shape  of  the  vessel,  and  lifting  equally  on  all  its 
parts,  and  was  held  in  a  perfectly  easy  manner  while  out  of  the  water;  re- 
maining on  during  one  of  the  severest  storms  experienced  in  this  harbor, 
without  the  least  strain  or  motion  of  the  vessel  or  Dock  ;  and  I  have  no 


20 


hesitation  in  recommending  ibis  as  a  perfectly  safe  Dock;  possessing  the 
greatest  elevating  power  within  my  knowledge,  and  affording  greater  faci- 
lities for  making  the  repairs,  having  a  broad,  tijjjit  floor  from  stem  to 
stern,  unobstructed  light  and  free  access  to  the  bottom  of  the  vessel. 

CHARLES  S  101) DART, 

New- York,- Dec.  24,  1842.  Master  of  the  Ville  de  Lyon. 

We  concur  in  the  above  statement  of  Captain  Stod'dart. 

C.  BOLTON,  FOX,  &  LIVINGSTON, 
Owners  of  the  Ville  de  Lyon  and  Agents  of  the  Havre  packets. 
December  30,  1S42. 

(E.) 

New-York,  Oct.  24,  1S42. 

The  undersigned,  interested  in  steamboats,  and  resident  in  the  City  of 
New- York,  do  hereby  certify,  that  we  are  acquainted  with  the  operation 
of  the  Sectional  Floating  Dry  Dock,  at  the  foot  of  Rutgers-street,  in  the 
East  River ;  that  we  have  had  steamboats  repaired  thereon  ;  that  we  un- 
hesitatingly pronounce  it  the  best  plan  of  Dry  Dock,  that  we  know  of, 
for  taking  up  steamboats  for  repairs,  and  as  such,  we  recommend  it  to 
the  attention  of  the  Navy  Department,  to  be  adopted  for  the  use  of  the 
United  States  Navy. 


JAMES  A.  STEYExVS, 

S.  R.  ROE, 

R.  B.  COLEMAN, 

A.  H.  SHULTZ, 

ALEX'R  McLEAN, 

DANIEL  DREW, 

J.  H.  VANDERBILT, 

JOSEPH  J.  COMSTOCK, 


CORNELIUS  VANDERBILT, 
M.  H.  TRUESDELL, 
L.  U.  BRAINARD, 
J.  NEWTON, 
JOHN  B.  VAIL, 
CURTIS  PECK, 
JOHN  DUNLOP, 
ANTHONY  N.  HOFFMAN. 


(F.) 

We,  the  undersigned,  shipwrights,  &c,  resident  and  in  business  in 
the  City  of  New-York,  do  hereby  certify,  that  we  have  been  for  a  long 
time  engaged  in  the  business  of  coppering  and  repairing  vessels,  and 
are  well  acquainted  with  the  different  plans  of  Dry  Docks,  used  for  that 
purpose ;  that  we  are  familar  with  the  construction  and  operation  of  the 
Sectional  Floating  Dry  D<ck,  foot  of  Rutgers-street,  East  River,  and 
we  have  no  hesitation  in  declaring  it,  in  our  opinion,  the  best  plan  of 
Dry  Dock  known  to  us  ;  that  the  conveniences  for  shoring  and  staging; 
the  broad  tight  floor  from  stem  to  stern  ;  the  perfect  exposure  of  the  ves- 
sel's bottom  to  the  light  and  air;  and  the  facilities  for  repairing  or  put- 
ting on  a  keel  or  shoe,  by  depressing  into  the  water  by  means  of  screws, 
one  section  at  a  time,  and  giving  the  vessel  an  equally  easy  bearing  on 
continuous  ways  on  each  side  of  the  keel,  which  is  left  clear  of  the  blocks 


21 


the  entire  length  of  the  vessel,  if  necessary,  enable  the  workmen  to  ac- 
complish their  labor  from  15  to  21)  per  cent,  cheaper  in  this  than  any 
Dry  Duck,  on  any  other  plan. 

WEBB,  ROBERTSON,  &  CO.,  Shipwrights. 
DIVINE  BURTIS  &  CO.,  Shipwrights  and  builders. 
BUCKNAM  &  C  A  SI  LEAR,  Shipwrights. 
IRVIN  &  CLARK,  Shipwrights,  caulkers,  &c. 
WESTER  VELT  &  MAC  KEY,  Shipbuilders,  &c. 
WHITLOCK  &  BERRIEN,  Shipwrights. 
WEBB  &  ALLEN,  Shipbuilders. 
BISHOP  &  SIMONSON,  Shipbuilders. 
BROWN  &  BELL,  Shipbuilders. 
DENIKE  &  KING,  Shipwrights. 
GEORGE  A.  SAUNDERS,  Shipwright. 
HERBERT  LAWRENCE,  Shipbuilder. 
BAYLES  &  BROWN,  Shipwrights. 
C.  &  R.  POILLON,  Shipwrights. 
JOHN  HARRISON,  Shipwright. 
C.  EDGAR  SMITH,  Shipwright. 
ALLEN  GORHAM,  Shipwright. 

New-Y'ork.  Jan.  4,  1843. 

(G.) 

LETTER  FROM  CAPTAIN  GREGORY,  U.  S.  NAVY. 

U.  S.  Rec.  Ship,  North  Carolina. 

New- York,  Nov.  16,  1842. 

Sir — LTnderstanding  that  S.  D.  Dakin,  Esq.,  President  of  the  New- 
York  Dry  Dock  Company,  is  about  presenting  himself  to  you  for  the 
purpose  of  laying  before  you,  plans  and  proposals  for  building  a  Dock 
upon  the  same  principles,  for  Naval  purposes,  upon  this  station  ;  I  beg 
leave  most  respectfully,  to  represent  for  your  information,  that  having  at 
various  times,  since  the  Floating  Dock  has  been  in  operation,  examined 
its  construction,  and  witnessed  the  facility,  safety,  and  despatch  with 
which  ships  have  been  taken  in  and  repaired,  I  am  fully  convinced  of  its 
superiority  over  all  other  kinds  I  have  seen:  and  I  have  no  hesitation  in 
recommending  it  to  your  consideration,  as  being,  in  my  opinion,  the 
most  safe,  economical,  and  expeditious  mode  of  constructing  a  Dry 
Dock  ;  and  that  it  can  be  constructed,  so  as  to  answer  all  the  purposes 
required  in  a  JVaval  PLstablishment. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be, 

Very  respectfully,  your  ob't  serv't, 

(Signed,)  F.  H.  GREGORY,  Captain,  U.  S.  N. 

Hon.  A.  P.  Upshur, 

Secretary  of  the  Navy,  Washington. 


22 


(H.) 

I  hereby  certify  that  I  have  been  the  Superintendent  of  the  Sectional 
Floating  Dry  Dock  since  it  was  first  put  in  operation,  in  December, 
1840  ;  that  since  that  time,  it  has  been  in  constant  and  successful  opera- 
tion, raising  vessels  of  various  sizes,  from  the  smallest  to  the  largest; 
that  upwards  of  150U  vessels  have  been  taken  up  and  repaired  thereon, 
between  that  time  and  December,  1845,  (about  five  years)  ;  that  no 
accident  of  any  kind  has  ever  occurred,  either  to  the  Dock  itself  or  to 
any  vessel  while  being  raised  or  repaired  thereon,  or  let  down  into  the 
water  ;  nor  has  the  slightest  injury  ever  happened  to  any  part  of  the  ma- 
chinery of  the  Dock.  PHINEAS  BURGESS, 

Superintendent  of  the  Sectional  Floating  Dry  Dock. 

New-York,  Dec.  1,  1845. 

(10 

OPINION  OF  THE  AMERICAN  INSTITUTE. 

The  American  Institute  last  Spring  apnointed  a  Committee  to  examine 
this  plan  of  Dry  Dock,  who  made  a  long  and  able  report ;  but  we  have 
room  only  for  the  following  extract,  which  embraces  the  conclusion  at 
which  they  arrived  : 

"  In  view  of  the  qualities  which  a  Floating  Dry  Dock  possesses,  for 
purposes  to  which  a  fixed  arrangement  would  be  inapplicable,  such  as  its 
portability,  its  easy  application  in  harbours  where,  from  great  depth  of 
water  or  softness  of  bottom,  other  Docks  could  not  be  constructed,  and 
also  from  the  successful  operation  of  this  arrangement,  its  applicability  to 
the  ordinary  purposes  of  a  Dry  Dock,  your  Committee  feel  assured  of  its 
extensive  adoption,  and  cheerfully  express  their  opinion  of  its  superiority 
over  any  other  Floating  Dry  Dock,  or  work  of  this  description,  which 
has  come  to  their  knowledge. 

June  19,  1842.  T.  B.  STILLMAN,  Chairman." 

(J.) 

OPINION  OF  FOSTER  RHODES,  Esq., 

Naval  Constructor  at  Brooklyn,  and  late  Chief  Naval  Constructor  to 
the  Grand  Seigneur,  and  builder  of  the  Stone  Dry  Dock  at  Con- 
stantinople, contained  in  a  long  and  able  letter  to  Mr.  Dakin,  last 
Spring,  from  which  the  following  is  a  short  extract : 

*  The  structure  which  you  have  built,  consisting  of  seven  sections,  is 
capable  of  raising  vessels  of  greater  size  than  any  Elevating  Dry  Dock 
I  have  yet  seen.  This  power  is,  in  my  opinion,  capable  of  increase  to 
to  a  very  considerable  extent,  without  detriment  to  its  operations,  and  is 
exerted  in  such  a  manner  upon  the  vessel,  as  to  hold  her  in  position  out 
of  the  water,  by  a  pressure  similar  to  that  which  sustains  her  when  afloat, 
thus  affording  the  best  possible  security  against  any  strain  or  injury. 

"In  your  Dock,  the  sections  fit  as  it  were,  to  the  vessel's  keel  and 
bottom,  and  conform,  while  they  lift,  to  its  floating  shape,  pressing  hard- 
er or  lighter  at  each  point,  as  it  may  require  more  or  less  support.  Many 


23 


other  advantages  might  be  named,  such  as  better  light,  and  more  room 
for  the  shipwright,  and  greater  conveniences  in  shoring  than  on  any  o'her 
Dock  ;  and  also  ability  of  being  removed  from  one  location  to  another, 
and  independence  of  the  titles,  unknown  to  oilier  Docks.  I  would  not 
be  understood  as  attempting  to  specify  in  detail,  the  advantages  of  your 
plan  of  Dry  Dock,  but  merely  to  allude  to  a  few  of  the  most  prominent 
ones. 

"  I  would  also  remark,  that  your  plan  is  the  cheapest  method,  at  least 
hitherto  devised,  of  bringing  the  requisite  power  to  bear  in  the  right  way 
for  raising  vessels,  for  repairing  and  coppering  :  and  I  can  hardly  con- 
ceive how  any  thing  cheaper  could  be  invented,  than  yours,  if  construct- 
ed with  economy  and  mechanical  skill. 

"  I  assure  you  I  shall  have  no  hesitation,  if  called  upon  for  an  opinion, 
to  recommend  to  the  United  States  Government,  to  construct  a  Floating 
Dry  Dock  upon  your  plan,  forthwith,  for  the  use  of  the  Navy.  The  rea- 
sons which  I  should  give  are,  that  great  breadth,  so  much  required  for 
steamers,  is  an  advantage  to  the  stability  of  this  Dock,  and  the  facility  of 
extending  its  length  to  the  extreme  of  steamships  :  second,  its  cheapness; 
and  third,  the  short  time  it  would  require  to  erect  and  put  one  in  effi- 
cient operation.  A  Dry  Dock  on  your  plan  can  be  built  in  a  few  months, 
whereas  it  will  take  some  years  to  complete  the  Excavated  Dry  Dock, 
now  begun  at  this  yard. 

u  The  premises  of  the  United  States,  at  this  place,  are  well  adapted  to 
receiving  a  Dock  on  your  plan  as  any  requisite  depth  of  water  can  be  ea- 
sily procured  at  a  trifling  expense  with  a  dredging  machine.  " 

"  The  Naval  service  demands  a  Dry  Dock  at  New-York,  without  de- 
lay. The  efficiency  and  advantages  of  yours, ^induce  me  to  say,  unhesi- 
tatingly, that  the  subject  of  building  one  for  the  use  of  the  Navy,  is  enti- 
tled, in  my  opinion,  to  the  immediate  attention  of  the  Government.  " 

(K.) 

Extract  from  the  Report  of  a  Select  Committee  of  the  Common  Council 
of  the  City  of  New-York,  on  the  subject  of  a  Dry  Dock,  to  raise  the 
U.  S.  Ship  of  the  Line  Franklin,  adopted  unanimously  on  the 
12th  day  of  June,  1843. 
"In  case  this  plan  should  fail,  (which  is  not  at  all  probable,  in  the  opin- 
ion of  your  Committee,)  there  is  a  Sectional  Floating  Dry  Dock  in  this 
port,  at  the  foot  of  Rutgers-street,  East  River,  capable  of  raising  so  large 
and  heavy  a  mass.    This  is  the  same  Dock  which  took  up  the  U.  S. 
Ship  Vi  nee  ones,  last  summer  to  the  great  satisfaction  of  the  Government 
which  has  raised  repeatedly  the  largest  class  of  merchant  ships,  on  five 
only  of  the  seven  sections  composing  the  Dock,  and  is  certified  by  a 
large  number  of  shipping  merchants  and  shipwrights,  to  be  decidedly  the 
best  plan  of  any  Dry  Dock  hitherto  devised. 

This  Dock  is  of  the  elevating  kind— raises  the  vessel  entirely  above 
the  surface  of  the  water,  exposes  her  bottom  fully  to  the  light  and  air,  af- 
fords ample  room  around  her  hull  for  the  workmen,  and  holds  her  in  a 
gentle  and  easy  manner,  secure  against  any  strain  or  danger  of  any 
kind.  Its  clear  lifting  capacity  is  stated  to  be  about  2,000  tons,  and  its 
power  available  for  raising  the  Franklin,  would  be  about  1,700  tons. 


24 


It  is  evident,  therefore  that  when  the  sh'p  is  cut  down  to  a  razee,  and  her 
weight  reduced  to  1.20  l  tons  or  there-a bouts,  this  Dock  can  easily  raise 
her  high  and  dry  above  the  water;  but  as  she  would  have  to  be  out  of  the 
water  many  months,  and  this  Dock  could  not  properly  be  withdrawn 
from  the  commercial  marine  tor  so  long  a  time,  your  Committee  pro- 
posed to  inquire  what  arrangements  could  be  adopted  to  secure  this  es- 
sential ptnect.  A  plan  has  been  submitted  to  your  Committee,  which 
strikes  them  not  only  as  feasible,  but  as  presenting  a  far  better  method 
of  accomplishing  this  purpose  than  an  Excavated  Stone  Dock,  or  any 
other  known  process  can  afford.  The  plan  is  as  follows  :  a  strong  cra- 
dle could  be  constructed  under  her  bottom,  and  securely  bolted  to  the 
ship.  To  the  bottom  of  this  cradle,  two  sliding  ways,  (exactly  to  con- 
form to  the  permanent  launching  ways  from  the  ship-house,)  could  be 
attached.  After  this  was  completed,  the  ship  could  then  be  let  down,  and 
by  means  of  powerlul  crabs  and  windlasses,  aided  by  blocks  and  pulls, 
could,  without  any  oifiiculity,  be  hauled  upon  the  permanent  launching 
ways  running  out  from  the  ship-house,  the  ends  of  which  are  about  twelve 
feet  under  water,  at  high  water  mark.  It  may  be  proper  to  add,  that  this 
plan  of  taking  out  the  ship,  emanated  from  one  of  the  most  distinguished 
Naval  architects  in  the  country  ;  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  of  its  complete 
success.  Should  the  Navy  Department  have  any  doubts  of  the  practica- 
bility of  this  plan,  there  would  be  no  difficulty  in  obtaining  responsible 
contractors  to  undertake  to  do  the  work. 

After  having  hauled  the  ship  into  the  ship-house,  the  advantage  of  repair- 
ing her  under  cover  in  a  dry.  light,  airy  ship-house,  where  the  work  could 
be  done  at  leisure,  would  be  obvious,  while  in  a  Dry  Dock,  the  work 
would  have  to  be  performed  at  perhaps  a  disadvantage,  and  the  ship  would 
not  be  in  as  favorable  a  position  for  re-building,  as  the  labor  would  have 
to  be  done  in  a  cramped  space,  without  light  and  air  to  dry  the  ship;  and 
it  has  been  estimated  that  the  ship  can  be  repaired  at  a  cost  of  $20,000 
less  in  a  ship-house,  than  in  a  Stone  Dock  or  any  other  Dry  Dock,  and 
would  be  worth  from  $20,000  to  $30,000  more  when  completed. " 

(L.) 

The  undersigned,  Port  "Wardens  of  the  City  of  New- York,  being  by 
their  occupation  brought  in  contact  with  shipwrights,  ship  owners,  and 
Dry  Docks,  and  being  well  acquainted  with  the  various  plans  of  Dry 
Docks  in  use  in  this  City,  and  with  public  opinion  in  relation  thereto, 
do  hereby  certify,  that  we  unhesitatingly  declare,  the  Sectional  Floating 
Dry  Dock,  in  our  opinion,  to  be  far  the  best  plan  that  has  come  to  our 
knowledge,  and  that  such  is  the  opinion  of  all  disinterested  persons  com- 
petent to  jud^ie  throughout  the  community.  It  raises  the  vessel  in  the 
most  easy,  safe,  cheap,  and  expeditious  manner,  affording  better  facili- 
ties for  shoring  and  seaming  the  vessel  than  any  other  plan  of  Dock 
known  to  us,  holding  the  vessel  in  the  most  convenient  position  possi- 
ble for  making  repairs,  and,  in  our  opinion,  admirably  adapted  to  the  use 
of  the  Navy,  affording  the  most  convenient  and  effective  Dock,  for  com- 
paratively small  cost. 

We  are  well  acquainted  with  the  Balance  Floating  Dock,  which  is  in 
use  here  on  a  small  scale.    Plans,  nearly  the  same,  have  been  in  use  for 


25 


many  years,  and  we  consider  it,  in  every  way,  inferior  to  the  Sectional 
Floating  Dock,  in  plan,  and  every  other  important  respect,  possessing 
less  conveniences,  light,  air,  and  room  for  the  workmen,  being  less  safe 
for  the  vessel,  and  less  secure  against  injury  to  its  own  structure,  and 
having  much  less  efficiency  for  practical  purposes. 

With  the  facilities  which  we  have  to  enable  us  to  form  a  correct  judge- 
ment on  the  subject,  we  have  no  hesitation  in  recommending  the  Sec- 
tional Floating  Dock  to  the  Government,  for  the  use  of  their  Navy. 
(Signed.) 

WILLIAM  TYACHE, 
HARRY  PARSENS, 
ANTHONY  MOFFAT, 
WILLIAM  NEWCOMB, 
R.  H.  TITTLE. 

New-York,  30th  June,  1S43. 

(M.) 

We,  the  undersigned,  Civil  Engineers,  Shipbuilders,  Shipwrights, 
and  Ship  owners,  being  familiar  with  the  construction  and  operation  of 
the  Sectional  Floating  Dry  Dock  now  in  use  at  the  foot  of  Pike  street, 
E.  R.,  in  this  city,  on  a  large  scale,  and  having  carefully  examined  a 
small  dock  on  the  same  plan,  worked  in  a  permanent  basin,  constructed 
for  its  reception,  connected  with  level  bed  and  sliding  ways  for  hauling 
ships  into  the  yard,  state,  as  the  result  of  our  examination,  that  by  this 
combined  arrangement,  the  dock  raises  the  ship  out  of  the  water,  and  is 
floated  with  the  ship  upon  it,  into  the  shallow  basin,  and  settles  upon  the 
platform,  by  admitting  water  into  the  tanks,  when  the  ship  may  be  re- 
paired on  the  dock,  or  by  means  of  a  hydraulic  cylinder,  or  other  power 
hauled  o^T  on  the  permanent  ways  into  a  ship  house ;  and  when  repaired 
and  required  for  service,  may,  by  the  same  power,  be  placed  again  on  the 
Dock,  floated  out  of  the  basin,  and  lowered  into  the  water.  By  con- 
structing the  basin  as  designed,  of  sufficient  size  to  admit  of  the  dock 
being  turned  around  therein,  room  is  afforded  to  lay  three  sets  of  ways 
on  each  of  the  three  sides,  extending  into  the  yard,  on  which  nine  ships 
may  be  placed  at  the  same  time,  for  repairs,  re-building,  or  laying  up  in 
ordinary;  furnishing  facilities  equal  to  nine  separate  stone  or  excavated 
docks,  at  the  same  time  leaving  the  dock  at  liberty  for  temporary  repairs. 
This  plan  furnishes  also  building  slips  for  new  ships  and  steamers  with 
facilities  for  placing  them  in  the  water  without  incurring  the  risk  of 
straining  or  hogging  them  in  launching  by  the  usual  way.  Ships  are 
also  placed  by  this  method  in  a  much  more  convenient  position  for  be- 
ing repaired  or  re-built,  than  in  an  excavated  wall  dock;  the  workman 
having  the  advantage  of  abundant  air,  light,  and  room. 

We  cheerfully  express  our  entire  confidence  in  the  utility,  conven- 
ience, simplicity,  and  perfect  safety  of  this  plan,  and  do  not  hesitate  to 
recommend  it  to  the  Government  for  the  use  of  the  Navy,  as  in  our 
judgment  superior  to  an  excavated  stone,  or  any  other  plan  of  Dock 
known  to  us. 

WESTERVELT  &  MACKEY,  Shipbuilders. 

JAZEB  WILLIAMS.  do. 

4 


26 


BROWN  &  BELL,  do. 

WM.  WEBB,  Shipbuilder,  late  firm  of  Webb  &  Allen. 

DIVINE  BURTIS  &  CO.,  Shipbuilders. 

HAYTHORN  &  SEERS,  do. 

BISHOP  &  SIMONSON,  do. 

WEBB,  ROBERTSON,  &  CO.,  Shipwrights. 

BUCK  MAN  &  CASILEAR,  do. 

WHITLOCK  &  BERRIAN,  do. 

BAYLES  &  BROWN,  do. 

WILLIAM  BENNET,  do. 

CORNELIUS  VANDERBILT,  Steamboat  Proprietor. 

HORATIO  ALLEN,  late  Chief  Engineer  of  the  New  York 

Croton  Aqueduct  Department. 
T.  S.  BROWN,  Chief  Engineer,  N.  Y.  &  E.  R.  R. 
T.  B.  STILLMAN,  Civil  Engineer. 
PAUL  R.  HODGE,  do. 
GEO.  S.  SCUYLER,  do. 
EDWARD  MARTIN,  do. 
CALVIN  POLLARD,  do. 
G  AMI  EL  KING,  do. 
ASA  STEBBINS,  do. 
THOS.  HASSARD,  do. 

ARNOLD  MASON,  )  Contractors  High  Bridge  for 
SAMUEL  ROBBERTS,  f       Croton  Aqueduct. 

And  many  others  not  procured  in  time  to  be  put  in  print. 
New- York,  Dec.  23,  1843. 


(N.) 

We  hereby  certify,  that  we  have  had  large  Steam  Boats  raised  upon  the 
Sectional  Floating  Dry  Dock  at  the  foot  of  Pike  street,  and  understand 
the  manner  of  the  construction  and  operation,  and  also  examined  a  Dock 
upon  a  small  scale  upon  this  plan,  constructed  with  a  permanent  Basin, 
and  Bed,  and  Sliding  Ways  for  the  purpose  of  hauling  ships  off  the  Dock 
and  have  no  hesitation  in  stating,  that  in  our  opinion,  this  Dock  connec- 
ted with  the  Stone  Basin  and  Bed  Ways,  is  superior  to  the  excavated 
Stone  Dock  or  any  other  plan  of  Floating  Dock  known  to  us  for  Naval 
purposes. 

SMITH  &  DIMON, 

Shipbuilders. 

New- York,  Jan.  1st,  1844. 


£3=-The  original  documents  of  which  the  foregoing  are  copies,  are  all 
in  possession  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 

(O.) 

The  expense  of  a  Dock  of  six  Sections,  of  a  combined  power  suffi- 
cient to  raise  the  largest  ship-of-the-line,  and  of  a  permanent  Stone  Ba- 
sin two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  square,  constructed  in  as  durable  manner 


27 


as  an  Excavated  Stone  Dry  Dock,  together  with  three  Bed  and  Sliding 
Ways,  laid  upon  a  foundation  of  piles,  cut  off  at  low  water,  and  worked 
up  therefrom  with  stone  masonry,  covered  with  a  Ship-house  two  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  square,  would  not  exceed  one-half  of  the  cost  of  an  old- 
fashioned  Excavated  Stone  Dock,  at  the  Brooklyn  Yard.  A  small  addi- 
tional expense  would  increase  the  bed  or  railways  to  nine  in  number, 
with  ship-houses  over  all,  connected  with  one  basin  of  the  above  size  ; 
and  by  extending  the  basin  in  length,  two  new  railways  could  be  made 
for  every  eighty  feet,  and  so  on  to  an  unlimited  extent.  Each  one  of 
these  bedways,  upon  which  the  same  Dock  may  deliver  any  number  of 
ships,  is  in  fact  far  better  in  all  respects,  and  holds  the  vessels  in  a  far 
more  favorable  position  than  an  Excavated  Granite  Dock  on  the  old  plan. 
The  basin  and  bedways  would  be  as  permanent  and  durable  as  the  Gra- 
nite Dock,  and  the  most  expensive  part  of  the  Floating  Dock  being  con- 
stantly saturated  with  salt  water,  would  be  nearly  imperishable.  The 
parts  of  the  structure  that  would  be  perishable  at  all,  would  last  for  a  whole 
generation,  at  least,  and  are  readily  renewed,  as  they  decay,  to  the  perma- 
nent parts;  and  the  whole  could  be  replaced,  if  required,  for  the  interest 
of  the  cost  of  one  Stone  Dock,  every  four  or  five  years. 

The  cost  of  the  single  Stone  Dock  at  Norfolk  was  ....  $974,000 
The  interest  lost  for  several  years,  while  the  Dock 
was  building,  and  before  it  could  be  used, 

would  bring  the  cost  up  to  about  $1,200,000 

New-York,  January  1st,  1844. 

(P-) 

LETTER  FROM  H.  M.  SHRIEVE,  ESQ.,  INVENTOR  OF 
THE  SNAG-BOAT,  &c. 

Washington,  May  20,  1844. 

Dear  Sir — I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  letter 
of  the  18th  inst,  asking  my  opinion  of  the  practicability  and  utility  of  the 
Sectional  Floating  Dry  Dock  Basin  and  Railways,  for  the  use  of  the 
Navy,  a  model  of  which  is  now  exhibiting  by  Messrs.  Dakin  &  Moody, 
at  the  Capitol. 

In  reply,  I  have  to  state,  that  I  have  examined  the  model  at  the  Capi- 
tol, in  all  the  various  operations  of  raising  ships,  and  hauling  them  off 
on  the  Railways,  and  have  come  to  the  following  conclusion  : 

First,  That  the  ship  is  taken  up  and  placed  upon  the  Railway,  and 
again  removed  to  a  floating  position,  almost  without  the  possibility  of 
injury  to  the  vessel. 

Secondly,  That  when  the  ship  is  on  the  Railway  she  is  in  the  open 
air,  where  the  bottom  will  dry,  and  be  in  a  condition  to  receive  the  ne- 
cessary repairs  in  a  much  shorter  time  than  if  placed  in  the  Ordinary 
Dry  Dock.  The  workmen  will  also  have  the  advantage  of  the  open  air, 
instead  of  being  confined  in  a  damp  enclosure.  Again,  there  will  be  a 
vast  saving  of  labor  in  favor  of  a  Railway  in  removing  the  timber,  and 
other  materials,  to  and  from  the  ship  undergoing  repairs  ;  for  instance, 
the  ship  is  placed  in  a  dock  surrounded  by  a  wall,  or  in  a  box  of  a  float- 


28 


ing  Dry  Dock  ;  it  cannot  then  be  approached  without  passing  over  the 
inclosure  ;  whereas,  the  ship  on  the  Railway  has  no  obstructions  to  pre- 
vent a  free  access  from  every  side.  From  these,  and  other  important 
considerations,  I  have  no  hesitation  in  giving  my  opinion  decidedly  in 
favor  of  the  Sectional  Floating  Dry  Dock  Railway  and  Basin,  over  all 
others  I  have  examined,  or  had  any  knowledge  of,  as  being  the  safest  in 
its  operation,  and  much  the  most  economical  both  for  repairing  and 
building  vessels  of  all  classes. 

Very  respectfully, 

Your  ob't  servant, 

HENRY  M.  SHRIEVE. 

Hon.  E.  J.  BLACK, 

House  of  Representatives,  Washington. 

(Q-) 

TO  THE  PUBLIC. 

Office  of  the  New-York  Floating  Dry  Dock  Co.,  ) 
New-York,  Oct.  25th,  1S45.  ] 

As  a  number  of  contradictory  statements  have  been  made  by  indivi- 
duals, and  the  public  press  of  this  city,  relative  to  the  raising  of  the 
Great  Britain  upon  the  Sectional  Dock,  the  Company  deem  it  due  to 
themselves  and  the  public,  to  give  a  correct  account  of  her  being  dock- 
ed, and  the  reasons  for  not  elevating  her  entirely  above  the  water,  as 
many  may  suppose  that  the  dock  was  incapable  of  lifting  her. 

On  the  day  of  her  arrival  at  this  port,  Captain  Hosken  and  Mr.  Irvin 
called  at  the  office  of  the  Dock  and  contracted  with  the  company  to  raise 
the  ship  eight  feet,  for  the  purpose  of  repairing  her  propeller.  We,  how- 
ever, supposed  that  we  should  be  allowed  to  raise  her  entirely  above  the 
water,  if  it  should  be  found  that  we  had  the  necessary  power. 

After  her  cargo  had  been  discharged,  she  left  the  pier  where  she  was 
moored,  about  11  o'clock,  A.  M.,  and  by  half  past  12  was  placed  over 
the  dock,  centered,  the  bilge  blocks  adjusted,  and  the  pumps  put  into 
motion.  They  were  kept  to  work  until  about  2  o'clock,  having  then 
raised  her  7|  feet,  when  we  were  informed  by  the  commander,  Captain 
Hosken,  that,  as  the  shaft  of  her  propeller  was  above  the  water,  she  was 
raised  sufficiently  for  his  purpose  ;  that  we  had  performed  our  part  of  the 
contract,  and  that  he  did  not  wish,  and  would  not  allow  us  to  raise  her 
any  higher.  We  therefore  stopped  our  pumps,  and  immediately  a  num- 
ber of  workmen  were  engaged  at  her  propeller.  Thus  it  took  but  three 
hours  from  the  time  she  left  her  berth  to  the  time  the  mechanics  com- 
menced their  repairs  upon  the  propeller. 

The  register  of  the  Great  Britain  in  England  is  3443  tons.  Her  dis- 
placement of  water,  or  weight  light,  is  about  2300  tons  gross,  and  in 
raising  her  7|  or  8  feet,  we  had  lifted  about  1700  tons,  leaving  but  6  or 
700  to  be  raised  to  elevate  her  entirely  above  the  water. 

We  have  in  our  dock  8  sections,  7  of  which  have  a  clear  lifting  capa- 
city of  300  tons  each,  and  one  of  450  tons,  making  2550  tons  over  and 
above  the  weight  of  the  part  of  the  dock  above  water ;  and  to  obtain  this 


29 


power  it  would  be  necessary  to  immerse  but  a  small  portion  of  the  end 
floats.  This  power  is  obtained  by  exhausting  water  from  immense  tanks 
placed  in  strong  truss  frames,  beneath  the  ship.  The  weight  of  the  ship 
is  sustained  bv  these  frames,  and  does  not  bear  upon  the  machinery  at  all, 
except  in  a  very  small  degree  when  we  immerse  the  end  floats. 

Upon  sounding  our  tanks,  alter  the  Great  Britain  was  raised,  we  found 
that  not  over  two-thirds  of  the  water  was  exhausted  from  them.  This 
demonstrates  beyond  the  possibility  of  doubt  that  we  had  an  abundance 
of  power  to  elevate  the  Great  Britain  entirely  above  the  water,  and  had 
we  been  allowed  to  drive  the  pumps  but  one  hour  more  this  would  have 
easily  been  accomplished.  It  is  established  that  the  power  of  the  Dock 
can  be  applied  with  safety,  as  it  has  frequently  been  done  by  exhausting 
all  the  water  from  some  one  of  the  sections,  and  immersing  the  end  floats 
for  the  purpose  of  straightening  s.:ips  and  steamers. 

In  consequence  of  not  being  allowed  to  raise  the  dock  above  the  water 
the  pumps  were  entirely  submerged,  and,  as  the  valves  are  not  tight,  the 
water  slowly  ran  into  the  tanks  through  the  pumps. 

This  made  it  necessary  to  start  the  pumps  for  a  few  minutes,  two  or 
three  times  a  day  during  the  time  she  was  on  the  dock.  After  the  pro- 
peller was  prepared,  the  ship  was  lowered  and  put  to  float  in  30  minutes. 

During  the  time  the  ship  was  on  the  dock  we  repeatedly  requested  per- 
mission to  raise  her  entirely  above  the  water,  but  it  was  not  granted. 

In  proof  of  the  above  statement,  we  annex  letters  received  from 
Richard  Irvin,  Esq.,  and  Captain  Hcsken,  and  leave  it  with  an  intelli- 
gent public  to  judge  of  our  ability  to  raise  entirely  this  ship,  or  any  other 
that  could  be  placed  on  the  dock,  of  not  over  25U0  tons  weight. 

To  our  friends  we  tender  our  sincere  thanks  for  their  countenance  and 
the  patronage  bestowed  upon  us,  and  hope  to  meet  a  continuance  of  their 
favors. 

In  respect  to  those  whom  rival  interests  have  made  enemies,  and  whom 
the  triumphant  success  of  our  dock  in  this  and  many  other  instances  has 
embittered  with  envy  and  malice,  and  who  are  ever  ready  t^  slander  our 
establishment  in  private,  and  assert  the  grossest  falsehoods  about  us,  in 
public  advertisements  and  newspaper  communications,  we  do  not  intend 
to  take  any  farther  notice  of  any  thing  they  may  say  or  publish  on  the 
subject,  as  the  dock  has  now  been  in  operation  about  5  years,  and  suc- 
cessfully raised  between  1500  and  1600  vessels  of  almost  all  classes, 
many  of  them  the  largest  packet  ships  and  steamers,  and  its  reputation  is 
too  well  established  to  be  disturbed  or  injured  by  any  thing  they  may  do 
or  say.  We  will  venture  to  exoress  the  hope  that  they  may  hereafter,  as 
citizens  of  this  city,  be  proud  that  New- York  has  a  dock  capable  of  rais- 
ing the  Great  Britain. 

Published  by  order  of  the 

New- York  Floating  Dry  Dock  Company. 


Office  of  the  N.  Y.  Floating  Dry  Dock  Co.  ) 

New-York,  Oct.  21.  1S45.  J 

Gentlemen — I  take  the  liberty  of  addressing  you  in  behalf  of  the 
New-York  Floating  Dry  Dock  Co.,  upon  whose  dock  the  steamboat 
Great  Britain  is  now  raised  sufficiently  high  to  admit  of  repairing  her 


30 


propeller,  to  solicit  you  to  allow  us  to  take  her  entirely  out  of  the  water. 
It  is  true  that  nearly  three-fourths  of  her  weight  is  now  upheld  by  the  dock, 
but  as  there  is  ample  power  in  the  dock  to  sustain  the  remainder,  and 
elevate  her  wholly  high  and  dry,  our  company  are  desirous  of  availing 
themselves  of  this  occasion  to  exhibit  the  capacity  of  their  dock,  and  show 
its  ability  to  raise  the  largest  class  of  ships.  They  are  the  more  anxious 
to  make  this  demonstration  of  the  power  of  the  dock,  from  the  fact  that 
some  doubt  has  been  expressed  whether  their  plan  of  Dry  Dock  could  be 
safely  extended  so  as  to  raise  the  largest  class  of  ships  of  war,  and  as  the 
entire  elevation  of  the  Great  Britain  will  tend  to  overcome,  if  not 
wholly  to  remove  such  doubt,  the  company  wish,  on  their  own  account, 
as  well  as  that  of  the  public,  to  embrace  this  opportunity  to  demonstrate 
the  fallacy  of  the  objection  by  raising  her  entirely  out  of  the  water. 

Very  respectfully,  your  ob't  servant, 

R.  MOODY,  Secretary. 

To  Capt.  James  Hosken,  R.  N.,  and  Richard  Irvin,  Esq.,  agent  of 
steamer  Great  Britain. 


New-York,  Oct.  25,  1845. 

Gents — I  enclose  a  letter  from  Captain  Hosken,  which  so  fully  replies 
to  yours  of  the  21st  inst.,  addressed  to  him  and  myself,  that  I  have 
nothing  to  add  except  to  express  my  confidence  in  your  dock,  and  my 
entire  satisfaction  with  its  performance  in  the  case  of  the  steamer  Great 
Britain. 

Yours  respectfully, 

RICHARD  IRVIN. 

To  the  President  and  Directors  of  the  N.  Y.  Foating  Dry  Dock 
Company. 


Great  Britain  Steamship.  > 
New- York,  24th  Oct.,  1845.  / 

Gentlemen — In  reply  to  your  request  to  raise  this  ship  completely  out 
of  water,  I  have  to  say,  that  as  there  was  no  necessity  on  our  part  for  the 
operation,  I  felt  myself  obliged  to  decline  acceding  to  it.  At  the  same 
time  I  must  express  my  entire  conviction  of  the  capacity  of  your  dock,  to 
effect  your  proposition.  I  may  also  state  to  you  that  I  entertained  this 
opinion  more  than  a  year  since,  and  made  a  report  to  my  Directors,  that 
in  the  event  of  the  emergency  arising,  your  Dock  could  do  it. 

The  Great  Britain  displaced  about  2300  tons,  when  placed  upon  your 
dock,  and  was  raised  1\  feet  in  one  hour  and  thirty-seven  minutes,  with- 
out the  slightest  appearance  of  strain  in  any  part  of  her.  This  left  about 
700  tons  water  borne.  You  subsequently  lifted  her  a  little  higher  at  my 
request,  leaving  about  600  tons  water  borne  ;  and  then,  from  my  own  ob- 
servation, I  have  no  doubl  you  had  about  800  tons  lifting  power  left. 


31 


The  power  exerted  having  completely  coincided  with  the  calculation  you 
had  previously  made  me  acquainted  with,  and  the  result  agreeing  with 
the  known  displacement  of  the  ship. 

I  remain,  gentlemen,  your  ob't  servant, 

JAMES  HOSKEN. 

To  the  President  and  Directors  of  the  New-York  Floating  Dry  Dock 
Company. 


(R) 


2Sth  Congress,  House  of  Reps. 

1st  Session.  Doc.  No.  146.  Navy  Depart. 

DRY  DOCK— NEW-YORK  HARBOR. 


REPORT 

OF 

THE  SECRETARY  OF  THE  NAVY, 

RELATIVE  TO 

The  construction  of  a  Dry  Dock  in  JVev)-Yorh  harbor,  upon  the  plan  of 
using,  as  an  elevating  power,  the  water  of  the  Croton  aqueduct,  fyc. 


February  19,  1844. 
Read,  and  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Naval  Affairs. 


Navy  Department,  February  12,  1844. 

Sir — In  obedience  to  the  requirements  of  an  act  of  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States,  passed  March  3,  1843,  in  these  words  : 

"  And  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  is  hereby  directed  to  cause  an  exam- 
ination to  be  made  of  the  expediency,  practicability,  and  probable  expense, 
of  constructing  a  dry  dock  in  the  harbor  of  New- York,  upon  the  plan  of 
using,  as  an  elevating  power,  the  water  of  the  Croton  aqueduct,  and  of 
sufficient  capacity  to  rebuild  or  repair  a  74-gun  ship  ;  and  to  cause  an 
examination  of  any  other  plan  or  plans  of  a  dry  dock,  or  floating  dock, 
in  said  harbor,  deemed  worthy  by  the  Secretary  to  be  reported  upon  ;  and 
to  report  the  result  of  such  examination,  with  his  opinion  thereon,  to  the 
next  session  of  Congress  — 

The  Secretary  of  the  Navy  has  the  honor  to  report  that,  in  October  last, 
the  engineer  of  the  Bureau  of  Yards  and  Docks,  Wm.  P.  S.  Sanger,  Esq. 
was  directed  to  make  the  necessary  examinations  of  sites  for  the  propo- 
sed Croton-water  dock.  He  was  assisted  in  his  arduous  labors  by  Messrs. 
George  F.  De  la  Roche  and  Calvin  Brown,  scientific  engineers  and 
draughtsmen,  employed  in  the  civil  department  of  the  naval  service. 

Three  sites  were  examined  within  the  limits  of  the  city  of  New-York, 
with  reference  to  the  use  of  the  Croton  water  as  an  elevating  power. 

The  first  was  at  Bellevue,  on  the  alms-house  lot. 

Though  this  site  contains  room  enough  for  a  dock,  it  is  not  sufficient- 
ly spacious  for  a  navy-yard,  and  has  the  further  objection  of  flats  or  shoals 
in  front,  which  would  prevent  the  access  of  the  largest  ships  of  war;  and 
the  bed  of  the  river  at  this  point  being  rock,  covered  only  by  a  thin  depo- 
site  of  mud,  excavation,  for  the  purpose  of  deepening  the  channel,  would 
be  impracticable ;  and  the  site  is  not  considered  suitable.  The  plan  of 
this  site  accompanies  Mr.  Sanger's  report,  marked  No.  1. 


33 


Doc.  No.  146. 

The  second  point  examined  was  nt  Kip's  Bay.  Here  a  depth  of  water  is 
found  sufficient  to  float  the  largest  ships  at  all  times  of  the  tide,  and  the 
site  is  beyond  any  injurious  influence  from  the  currents  caused  by  the 
waters  flowing  through  Hellgate.  It  is  also  sufficiently  near  to  the  cen- 
tral parts  of  the  city  to  obtain  readily  workmen  and  materials.  The 
grounds  about  this  site,  however,  are  very  irregular ;  and  the  grading  for 
a  navy  yard,  and  the  rock  excavations  for  a  dock,  would  be  very  expen- 
sive. Plan  No.  2,  accompanying  Mr.  Sanger's  report,  exhibits  the  form 
and  features  of  this  site.  Plan  No  3,  represents  the  arrangement  of  the 
dock. 

Harlaem  cove,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Harlaem  river,  and  opposite  to  the 
south  end  of  Great  Barn  island,  was  next  examined.  This  site  is  shown 
on  plan  No.  4,  of  Mr.  Sanger.  The  larger  portion  of  the  ground  being 
a  low  marsh  covered  with  water  at  ordinary  high  tides,  and  the  mud  being 
some  twenty  feet  deep,  would  require  great  expense  in  filling  and  in  piling 
for  solid  foundations. 

The  estimated  cost  of  a  dock  at  this  site  is  $1,716,996. 

There  would  be  great  danger  in  approaching  this  point  with  ships,  ow- 
ing to  the  rapid  currents  in  and  about  Hellgate.  This  site  was  examined 
by  a  commissioner  in  1836,  and  reported  as  unfavorable,  which  opinion 
is  confirmed  by  Mr.  Sanger. 

It  will  be  perceived,  from  the  report  of  the  engineers,  that  it  is  practi- 
cable to  construct  a  dry  dock  in  New-York,  upon  the  plan  of  using  the 
Croton  water  a<  an  elevating  power.  The  expenses  of  such  a  work  for 
one  dock  at  Kip's  bay  (the  only  point  examined,  where  it  is  considered 
safe  to  construct  the  work)  is  estimated  at  $1,580,835,  exclusive  of  the 
cost  of  land,  and  of  the  water  to  be  obtained  from  the  Croton  reservoir, 
of  the  amount  of  which  no  reliable  estimates  could  be  procured.  The 
expediency  of  constructing  such  a  work  remains  to  be  considered. 

One  of  the  principal  advantages  of  a  lock-dock  over  the  excavated 
dock,  where  the  tides  do  not  drain  the  excavated  dock  at  their  ebb,  was 
formerly  considered  to  be  their  easy  drainage  ;  but,  since  the  introduction 
of  pumps  driven  by  steam-power,  this  advantage  has  become  of  minor 
importance,  and  the  cost  of  procuring  the  Croton  water,  it  is  believed, 
would  exceed  the  expense  of  draining  by  steam.  A  lock-dock  would, 
undoubtedly,  be  dryer  than  an  excavated  dock,  which  must  always  be 
more  or  less  wet,  from  the  constant  oozing  in  of  the  tide. 

Another  advantage  resulting  from  the  elevated  and  dry  position  of 
lock-docks,  is,  that  houses  can  be  erected  over  them,  aud  the  ships  be 
thus  kept  from  the  action  of  the  water  and  the  weather  at  the  same  time. 
But  these  advantages,  it  is  believed,  may  be  obtained  in  a  more  effective 
aud  cheaper  mode,  by  a  plan  which  will  be  spoken  of  in  another  part  of 
this  report. 

The  expense  of  a  lock-dock  at  Kip's  bay,  or  at  any  other  point,  would 
be  very  large,  and,  without  a  navy-yard  connected  with  it,  the  advantages 
would  be  limited.  To  connect  with  it  a  navy-yard,  would  require  the 
erection  of  workshops,  ship-houses,  storehouses,  and  machinery,  indis- 
pensable in  such  an  establishment ;  and  it  would  also  supercede  and 
render  useless  the  like  kind  of  works,  which  have  been  built  at  the  Brook- 
lyn yard  at  a  cost  of  more  than  a  million  of  dollars. 

5 


34 


Doc.  No.  146. 

After  a  careful  examination  of  the  several  reports  made  at  different 
times  by  the  commissioners  and  engineers  who  have  had  the  subject  of 
a  new  location  for  a  navy-yard  on  the  waters  of  New-York  confided  to 
them,  and  deliberate  consideration  of  the  different  points  discussed  and 
explained  in  those  reports,  the  conclusion  seems  forced  upon  the  mind 
that  it  is  inexpedient  to  change  the  location  of  the  navy-yard  at  Brook- 
lyn, and  that  the  Croton  water  cannot  be  beneficially  used  as  an  elevat- 
ing power  for  a  dry  dock. 

The  Secretary  of  the  Navy  was  directed,  in  the  said  resolve,  to  cause 
an  examination  of  any  other  plan  or  plans  of  a  dry  dock,  or  floating  dock, 
in  said  harbor,  deemed  worthy  by  the  Secretary  to  be  reported  upon,  and 
to  report  the  result  of  such  examination,  with  his  opinion  thereon,  to  the 
next  session  of  Congress. 

There  have  been  two  such  plans  of  docks  examined  ;  first,  the  ordi- 
nary excavated  stone  dock,  similar  to  those  of  Charlestown  and  Norfolk  ; 
and  the  sectional  floating  dock. 

In  the  early  history  of  the  navy,  the  repairs  and  examinations  in  bot- 
toms of  ships  were  made  by  heaving  the  ship  down — a  process  both  costly 
and  hazardous.  Early  efforts  were  made  by  the  Government  to  intro- 
duce the  use  of  the  dry  dock,  both  for  repairs  and  shelter.  In  a  report  of 
the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  in  December,  1798,  it  is  said  :  "  Docks  will  be 
highly  necessary  in  repairing  our  ships,  to  avoid  the  tedious,  expensive, 
and  sometimes  dangerous  operation  of  heaving  down.  They  can,  un- 
doubtedly, be  made  in  eastern  States,  where  the  tides  rise  very  consider- 
ably— probably  in  New  Hampshire,  Massachusetts,  and  Rhode  Island. 
Whether  they  cau  be  made  with  equal  advantage,  or  to  answer  valuable 
purposes,  to  the  southward  of  Rhode  Island  or  New-York,  I  cannot  form 
an  accurate  judgment  from  any  information  I  possess  ;  though  it  would 
unquestionably  be  a  great  public  advantage  to  have  a  dock  at  the  entrance 
into  the  Chesapeake  bay,  and  another  still  further  south,  if  circumstances 
will  permit. 

In  President  Jefferson's  message  of  December  15,  1802,  speaking  of 
the  same  subject,  he  says  :  "  Presuming  it  will  be  deemed  expedient  to 
expend  annually  a  convenient  sum  towards  providing  the  naval  force 
which  our  situation  may  require,  I  cannot  but  recommend  that  the  first 
appropriations  for  that  purpose  may  go  to  the  saving  what  we  already  pos- 
sess. No  cares,  no  attentions  can  preserve  vessels  from  rapid  decay, 
which  lie  in  water,  exposed  to  the  sun.  These  decays  require  great  and 
constant  repairs,  and  will  consume,  if  continued,  a  great  portion  of  the 
moneys  destined  to  naval  purposes.  To  avoid  this  waste  of  our  re- 
sources, it  is  proposed  to  add  to  our  navy-yard  here  a  dock,  within  which 
our  present  vessels  may  be  laid  up  dry,  and  under  cover  from  the  sun. 
Under  these  circumstances,  experience  proves  that  works  of  wood  will 
remain  scarcely  at  all  affected  by  time.  The  great  abundance  of  running 
water  which  this  situation  possesses,  at  heights  far  above  the  level  of  the 
tide,  if  employed  as  is  practised  for  lock  navigation,  furnishes  the  means 
for  raising  and  laying  up  our  vessels  on  a  dry  and  sheltered  bed  ;  and 
should  the  measure  be  found  useful  here,  similar  depositories  for  laying 
up,  as  well  as  for  building  and  repairing  vessels,  may  hereafter  be  under- 
taken at  other  yards  offering  the  same  means." 


35 


Doc.  No.  146. 

Before  the  introduction  of  steam-power  for  the  purpose  of  drainage,  it 
was  deemed  important  to  place  a  dock  where  the  ebb  and  flow  of  the  tide 
were  sufficient  to  float  a  ship  into  the  dock, and  drain  it  by  the  same  natu- 
ral power  ;  or  to  place  the  ship  ov  lockage  so  high,  that  the  dock  would 
be  drained  by  opening  its  sluice-ways.  Since  the  introduction  of  steam- 
power  excavated  docks  are  kept  tolerably  well  drained  at  a  cheap  rate,  even 
where  their  beds  are  below  the  surface  of  the  water,  by  pumping. 

The  general  advantages  of  docking,  over  the  old  mode  of  heaving 
down,  consist  in  the  safety  to  the  ship,  and  facility  to  the  workmen  in 
examining  and  repairing  ships'  bottoms;  in  economy  of  time  and  ex- 
pense ;  and  in  the  opportunity  it  affords  of  a  more  thorough  examination 
of  the  defective  parts. 

The  first  dock  in  the  United  States  was  built  in  Charlestown,  and  is 
capable  of  docking  the  largest  ships.  The  estimated  cost,  as  stated  in  the 
report  of  engineer  Loammi  Baldwin,  Esq.,  was  $280, US9  ;  the  actual 
cost  was  $677,089.  The  cost  of  the  dock  at  Norfolk  was  $962,459. 
Both  these  are  stone  docks. 

No  detailed  estimate  of  the  cost  of  constructing  a  dry  dock  at  the 
Broklyn  yard  has  come  under  the  notice  of  the  undersigned.  Mr.  Bald- 
win, in  his  report  to  the  department,  dated  December  10,  1836,  says 
upon  this  subject : 

"The  cost  of  a  dry  dock,  I  have  learned  from  experience,  is  wholly 
out  of  your  reach  by  the  ordinary  calculations  of  detail. 

"The  closest  calculations  can  never  be  so  safe,  for  your  present  pur- 
poses, as  that  of  taking  the  mean  cost  of  the  two  docks,  already  built  at 
Boston  and  Norfolk- 

The  dry  dock  at  Boston,  including  all  expenses,  cost  .  $677,089  78 
The  dry  dock  at  Norfolk,  including  all  expenses     .      .       962,459  19 


1,639,548  97 

Mean  cost  •    819,774  48 


"  Hence  I  cannot  assume  safer  data,  that  I,  or  any  other  engineer,  I 
believe,  can  furnish,  than  $820,000,  for  the  cost  of  a  dry  dock  at  either 
site  in  question." 

This  estimate  is  exclusive  of  the  excavation  of  the  channel,  and  crib- 
work,  to  secure  a  suitable  depth  of  water  at  the  Brooklyn  yard. 

Mr.  Sanger  estimates  the  cost  for  the  like  work,  for  the  dock,  $750,000, 
and  the  crib- work  at  $100,000  ;  but  it  does  not  appear,  in  his  report,  that 
this  sum  is  derived  from  any  estimate  of  the  details  of  cost. 

Excavated  stone  docks,  in  this  country,  where  the  tides  do  not  rise 
many  feet,  have  but  partially  met  the  wants  of  the  shipbuilders.  Besides, 
they  are  costly,  confined  for  room,  dark,  and  damp.  They  do,  indeed, 
answer  for  single  ships;  but  the  ship-building  interest  (one  of  the  most 
important  branches  of  human  industry,  viewed  in  all  its  bearings,  upon 
the  welfare  of  the  human  family)  has  long  needed,  and  labored  to  disco- 
ver some  plan  by  which  vessels  could  be  built  on  level  ways,  and  thence 
launched  into  their  destined  element,  without  the  racking  and  straining 


36 


Doc.  No.  146. 

always  incident  to  the  ordinary  mode  of  building  and  launching  from  in- 
clined planes;  a  plan  that  would  likewise  enable  them  bale ly  to  raise 
vessels  vertically  from  the  water,  and  place  them  high  and  dry,  for  repairs 
or  preservation.  It  is  true,  a  vessel  can  be  thus  built  and  launched  from 
the  excavated  stone  dock  ;  but  such  a  dock  is  entirely  too  expensive  to 
be  used  for  such  a  purpose,  and  such  a  length  of  time  as  would  be  re- 
quired to  build  a  large  ship. 

Various  inventions  have  been  essayed  for  the  purpose  of  reaching  so 
desirable  a  result ;  and  floating  docks,  on  different  models,  have  been 
built,  and  successfully  used,  for  a  number  of  years,  in  raising,  repairing, 
and  launching  merchant  vessels,  and  the  smaller  vessels  of  war.  JNo  at- 
tempt has  been  made  to  build  ships  on  the  floating  docks  ;  they  have 
been  used  only  to  raise  and  repair  them.  There  was  still  a  want  unsup- 
plied — a  plan  by  which  vessels,  when  thus  raised,  could  be  safely  trans- 
ferred to  dry  land  and  housed  ,  a  plan  by  which  vessels  could  be  built, 
standing  vertically,  and  thus  launched — avoiding  the  liabilities  of  strain, 
hogging,  and  warping,  incident  to  the  building  and  launching  from  the 
inclined  ways.  This  desirable  and  important  object,  long  so  fruitlessly 
sought,  it  is  believed  has  been  attained  by  the  invention  of  the  sectional 
floating  dock,  connected  with  a  permanent  basin  and  level  rail  track. 
Vessels  of  the  largest  size  may  be  raised  from  the  water,  on  this  dock, 
used  as  the  elevating  power ;  the  dock  floated  into  its  basin,  settled  on  its 
permanent  foundation,  and  the  ship  thence  transferred  to  the  land,  and 
again  safely  placed  upon  the  dock,  and  lowered  into  the  water,  never  los- 
ing its  upright  position. 

S.  D.  Dakin,  Esq.,  of  New- York,  has  presented  a  plan  of  this  dock, 
and  exhibited  a  working  model  of  it,  to  the  department;  which  seems  to 
promise  the  accomplishment  of  the  great  object  so  long  sought  in  the  bu- 
siness of  ship  building. 

The  dock  here  spoken  of — not  connected  with  the  proposed  improve- 
ment of  a  permanent  basin  and  railway — has  been  in  successful  opera- 
tion for  several  years  in  New- York  ;  and  has  raised,  and  had  repaired  on 
it,  numerous  vessels,  some  of  large  size  and  great  length,  without  having 
experienced  any  accident,  either  to  the  ships  or  the  dock. 

A  personal  examination  of  the  sectional  dock  and  its  working  power 
in  raising  and  lowering  a  vessel  of  more  than  600  tons,  made  by  the  un- 
dersigned, at  New- York,  during  the  last  season,  proved  to  him  very  satis- 
factory and  conclusive  in  favor  of  the  utility  of  the  invention. 

The  proprietors  claim  that  this  dock  possesses  the  following  advanta- 
ges : 

u  1st.  A  perfect  adaptation  of  the  supporting  power  of  the  dock  to  the 
actual  shape  of  the  vessel's  bottom." 

This  is  a  great  practical  advantage,  understood  m^re  fully  by  ship- 
wrights than  by  other  persons.  They  all  agree  in  saying  that  artificial 
methods  of  adjusting  keel  blocks  in  a  rigid  line  to  the  shape  of  the  keel, 
however  plausible  in  theory,  do  not  work  well  in  practice ;  and  that  no- 
thing hitherto  devised  can  compare,  in  this  respect,  with  the  sectional 
buoyant  platforms  of  this  dock,  which  are  themselves  buoyed  up  by  the 
very  pressure  of  the  water  that  sustains  the  vessel  when  afloat ;  and  each 


37 


Doc.  No.  146. 

acting  independent  of  the  rest,  though  all  in  concert,  must  necessarily 
hold  her  in  her  floating  shape. 

"  2d.  Abundance  of  room,  light,  and  air,  around  the  vessel's  bot- 
tom." 

The  advantage  in  this  respect  is  so  great,  that  shipwrights  unite  in  de- 
claring that  it  enables  them  to  perform  their  work  from  15  to  20  percent, 
cheaper  on  this,  than  on  any  other  dock,  and  to  inspect  the  minutest 
damages  or  defects  of  the  vessel's  bottom. 

"  3d.  Ability  of  being  elongated  or  contracted,  according  to  the  length 
of  the  vessel,  and  of  being  separated,  by  taking  the  sections  apart,  into 
two  or  more  docks,  and  thus  performing  a  great  deal  more  efficient  ser- 
vice than  any  other  dock. 

4th.  The  facility  with  which  ii  can  be  repaired,  by  raising  one  section 
at  a  time,  on  two  others. 

"5th.  The  short  time  required  for  its  construction — not  being  more 
than  8  or  ID  months. 

"  6th.  Its  entire  independence  of  the  tides — being  capable  of  operat- 
ing at  all  tides. 

"7th.  The  small  expense  of  working  it,  depending  upon  the  size  of  the 
vessels  ;  whereas,  in  a  stone  dock,  the  smaller  the  vessel,  the  more  the 
expense. 

"8th.  Its  ability  to  sink  without  ballast ;  and,  in  sinking  or  rising,  to 
maintain  its  equilibrium,  and  any  required  position,  by  means  of  its 
moveable  and  controlling  end  floats. 

"  9th.  Its  adaptation,  attained  by  its  sectional  arrangements,  to  make 
timber  and  iron  exert  their  strength  in  the  most  effective  and  economical 
manner,  and  secure  the  structure  against  the  risk  of  an  overwhelming 
strain  bearing  upon  any  one  point.  Each  section  is,  indeed,  with  a 
limited  lifting  power,  to  which  its  strength  is  adapted,  acting  independ- 
ently, and  yielding  in  the  water  if  any  pressure  beyond  that  amount  tends 
to  come  upon  it. 

"  10th.  Ability  to  be  easily  moved  from  place  to  place — an  advantage 
at  all  times  of  much  convenience,  and,  in  case  of  an  anticipated  attack 
on  the  navy-yard,  of  the  greatest  moment." 

Such  are  the  advantages  claimed  for  this  dock,  independent  of  any  con- 
nection with  a  permanent  platform  and  rail-track. 

The  engineer,  Mr.  Sanger,  was  directed  to  examine  the  Brooklyn  yard, 
in  reference  to  the  practicability  of  using  this  dock  and  rail-track  at  that 
yard. 

His  report  to  the  department,  herewith  transmitted,  presents  a  detail  of 
facts  connected  with  the  subject.  A  dock  capable  of  lifting  the  ship 
Pennsylvania,  of  120  guns,  weighing,  when  ready  for  sea,  5,200  tons, 
with  permanent  basin,  bed-way,  rail  track,  and  all  the  necessary  machin- 
ery to  work  it,  can  be  built  for  $497,000,  and  requires  forty  feet  of  water 
to  raise  her. 

The  cost  of  dredging  and  crib- work,  to  accommodate  this  structure,  at 
the  Brooklyn  yard,  would  be  about  the  same  as  would  be  required  if  a 
stone  dock  were  built  there.  The  cost  of  a  sectional  dock,  with  all  the 
above-named  appendages,  sufficient  to  raise  the  Pennsylvania,  relieved  of 
tbe  weight  of  her  armament  and  stores  (weighing,  in  that  state,  2,876 


38 


Doc.  No.  146. 

tons,)  would  cost  $485,000,  and  require  82  feet  water  to  raise  the  ship, 
and  but  14  feet  to  float  her  in,  and  bed  her  on  the  permanent  basin. 

A  dock  to  lift  a  second  class  frigate,  with  dock  machinery  and  one 
rail-track,  complete,  can  be  built  for  $180,000. 

An  excavated  stone  dock  can  accommodate,  ordinarily,  but  one  vessel 
at  a  time,  and,  during  war,  would  hardly  afford  the  facilities  that  would  be 
needed.  The  Navy  Commissioners,  in  a  report  dated  February  17, 
1836,  state  that  it  might  require  12,000  days'  labor  to  repair  the  bottom 
of  a  74. — working  in  the  longest  days  of  the  summer.  In  such  a  case, 
many  weeks,  if  not  months,  must  elapse  before  such  a  vessel  could  be 
t  iken  from  the  dock,  owing  to  the  comparatively  small  number  of  persons 
who  could  work  upon  her  at  once  in  so  confined  a  place. 

The  sectional  floating-dock,  with  rail-tracks,  could  accommodate  many 
vessels  at  once,  where  they  would  be  placed  with  ample  room,  light,  and 
air  around  them,  and  giving  every  facility  for  working  with  despatch. 

The  object  so  strongly  desired  in  Mr.  Jefferson's  message,  before 
quoted — that  our  vessels  may  be  laid  up  dry,  and  under  cover  from  the 
sun,  and  which  he  hoped  to  obtain  by  means  of  lock-docks — it  is  believ- 
ed may  be  much  better,  and  much  more  cheaply  obtained,  by  the  sectional 
dock  and  railway. 

All  experience  verifies  the  remark  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  that  "  no  cares,  no 
attentions  can  preserve  vessels  from  rapid  decay,  which  lie  in  water,  ex- 
posed to  the  sun,"  and  that  works  of  wood,  laid  up  dry,  will  remain 
scarcely  affected  by  time. 

Some  of  the  most  costly  ships  of  our  navy  have  rotted,  and  been  bro- 
ken up,  seeing  little  more  service  than  lying  at  the  wharves  ;  while  others, 
built  about  the  same  periods,  remain  comparatively  uninjured,  in  the 
houses  in  which  they  were  built. 

It  is  believed  that  the  sectional  dock  and  railways  will  not  only  answer 
for  the  repairs  of  ships,  better  than  any  other  plan  yet  devised,  but  that 
they  will  become  the  only  building-ways ;  and  that,  instead  of  letting  our 
ships,  when  not  in  use,  lie  and  decay  at  the  navy-yards,  in  ordinary,  they 
will  be  raised  from  the  water,  and  placed  under  cover,  protected  from  the 
weather,  upon  the  rail-tracks. 

The  plan  of  the  sectional  dock  and  railway  commends  itself  to  favor 
by  its  cheapness  and  simplicity ;  and  if,  on  trial,  it  realizes  what  has 
been  promised  from  its  use,  it  will  enable  the  Government  to  construct, 
at  a  moderate  cost,  a  dock  at  each  of  the  navy-yards,  capable  of  accom 
modating  a  number  of  ships  at  once. 

After  carefully  considering  the  facts,  statements,  and  opinions  which 
have  been  presented  to  the  department,  at  different  periods,  by  the  officers 
and  others  who  have  had  the  subject  of  a  dry-dock  at  the  Brooklyn  yard 
under  investigation,  the  undersigned  is  fully  persuaded  that  the  plan  of 
dock  of  Mr.  Dakin,  here  spoken  of,  is  worthy  of  trial  on  a  scale  suffi- 
ciently large  for  raising  the  largest  ships. 

A  copy  of  a  letter  from  Foster  Rhodes,  Esq.,  the  naval  constructor  at 
Norfolk,  is  appended,  as  likewise  the  report  of  Mr.  Sanger. 

All  of  which  is  respectfully  submitted: 

DAVID  HENSHAW, 

Hon.  John  W.  Jones, 

Speaker  of  the  House  of  Represen  tatives, 


39 


Doc.  No.  146. 

Gosport,  Va.,  January  22,  1S44. 

Dear  Sir  :  I  received  on  Saturday  your  letter  and  pamphlet — u  Plan 
and  Advantages  of  a  Sectional  Dry  Dock,"  &x. ,  for  which  please  accept 
my  thanks. 

The  lithograph  enables  me  fully  to  comprehend  the  important  improve- 
ments you  have  therein  delineated.  The  mode  by  which  you  propose  to 
take  the  vessel  from  the  dock  to  the  land,  for  the  purpose  of  repair  or  safe 
keeping:,  and  again  to  put  her  in  the  water,  is  much  more  simple  and  ef- 
fective than  anything  that  I  suggested  last  winter  to  Mr.  Bayard,  the  in- 
telligent chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Naval  Affairs  in  the  Senate. 

In  examining  the  plan,  and  reading  your  letter,  I  cannot  but  feel  flat- 
tered in  seeing  my  recommendation  to  Messrs.  Dakin  and  Burgess,  of 
having  the  centre  tank  in  one,  and  the  truss  or  frame  enclosed  within  it, 
for  additional  strength,  so  fully  carried  out.  With  regard  to  a  location, 
I  do  not  think  any  place  equal  to  the  Brooklyn  yard  for  naval  purposes, 
(if  a  floating  dock  is  to  be  adopted,)  where  a  basin  may  be  dug  with  the 
greatest  ease,  either  in  the  meadows,  or  in  the  flat  in  front  of  the  yard, 
where  the-e  is  abundant  room  for  piers,  slips,  &c. 

In  looking  over  your  whole  plan,  it  may  be  termed  a  magnificent  one, 
truly;  and  although  it  may  be  drawn  out  too  far  for  the  navy  of  the  pres- 
ent day,  it  is  on  a  principle  that  can  be  extended  as  the  wants  of  the  ser- 
vice may  require  it. 

The  principles,  details,  and  practicability  of  the  plan  of  the  dock,  ba- 
sin, platforms,  &c,  are  highly  creditable  to  the  intelligence,  industry,  and 
practical  knowledge  of  yourself  and  your  associates. 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

FOSTER  RHODES. 

R.  Moody,  Esq.,  Washington,  D.  C. 


REPORT  OF  THE  CHIEF  ENGINEER  OF  THE 
BUREAU  OF  YARDS  AND  DOCKS. 

Washington,  January  23,  1844. 
Sir:  In  compliance  with  your  order  of  the  30th  October  last,  directing 
an  examination  of  several  points  on  the  East  river,  in  the  harbor  of  New 
York,  in  referenc  !  to  the  construction  of  a  dry  dock,  using  the  water  of 
the  Croton  aqueduct  as  an  elevating  power,  &.c,  I  have  performed  the 
duty  assigned,  and  respectfully  report : 

Here  follow  the  views  of  Mr.  Sanger,  which  are  omitted,  in  regard  to  the 
proposed  Croton  water  Dock,  the  construction  of  which  he  declares  to  be  "  inex- 
epedient. " 

My  letter  of  instructions  also  directs  me  <c  to  examine  the  Brooklyn 
Navy- Yard,  and  ascertain  the  practicability  and  cost  of  constructing  a 
floating  sectional  dock  upon  Dakin's  plan,  connected  with  a  railway  to 
take  the  ships  from  the  dock  to  the  land — the  dock  and  railway  to  be  ca- 
pable of  taking  up  the  largest  ships-of-the-line.  n 


40 


Doc.  No.  146. 

This  subject  has  engaged  my  particular  attention,  and  I  had  several 
opportunities  of  witnessing  the  performance  of  a  dock  on  this  plan,  which 
is  in  daily  operation.  This  dock  consists  of  seven  sections,  two  of  which 
were  completed  and  first  used  in  December  1S40  in  January,  1841,  the 
third  section  was  added;  in  July  and  August,  1841,  the  fourth  and  fifth 
were  added;  in  March,  1842,  the  sixth  was  constructed  ;  and  in  August, 
1842,  the  dock  was  extended  to  its  present  capacity.  No  accident  has  yet 
occurred  to  this  dock,  and  a  statement  of  the  number  and  description  of 
vessels  which  have  been  raised  and  repaired  will  afford  the  best  evidence 
of  its  safety  and  utility.  The  proprietors  exhibited  their  register,  by  which 
it  appears  that  the  following  vessels  have  been  taken  out  and  repaired:  1 
sloop  of  war,  87  ships,  53  barques,  139  brigs,  132  schooners,  17  sloops, 
27  pilot  boats,  and  59  steamboats.  Among  the  steamboats  were  several 
of  great  length  and  weight.  I  was  present  when  the  Troy,  295  feet 
length,  was  taken  out,  and  made  particular  observations  to  ascertain  if 
the  boat  was  strained  by  the  operation.  A  line  of  horizontal  brackets  was 
placed  at  intervals  of  about  12  feet  along  the  centre  of  the  deck;  and  af- 
ter the  boat  was  entirely  out  of  the  water,  no  change  whatever  could  be 
discovered  in  the  line.  This  afforded  satisfactory  evidence  that  the  from 
of  the  boat  was  preserved.  This  dock  is  a  very  simple  and  ingenious 
contrivance,  and  its  construction  and  arrangements  reflect  much  credit 
on  the  projectors.  The  lifting  power  of  the  dock  now  in  use  is  2,140 
tons. 

The  proprietors  propose  to  construct  a  dock,  basin,  and  three  railways, 
of  the  following  dimensions  and  powers,  for  the  sum  annexed  :  The  ex- 
treme breadth  of  dock  120  feet,  and  length  sufficient  to  accommodate  the 
Pennsylvania  ;  to  be  divided  into  6  sections,  each  to  consist  of  1  sub- 
merged tank,  divided  in  the  centre  by  a  strong  partition,  and  2  end  floats  ; 
the  external  dimensions  of  the  tanks  to  be  86  feet  long,  30  feet  wide,  and 
9  feet  6  inches  deep  ;  the  external  capacity  equal  to  80  feet  length,  26  feet 
width,  and  8  feet  depth  ;  the  external  dimensions  of  the  end  floats  to  be 
each  25  feet  6  inches  long,  16  feet  wide,  and  9  feet  deep  ;  the  depth  to  be 
immersed  by  the  power  of  machinery  6  feet.  These  dimensions  will 
furnish  a  lifting  power  in  each  tank  equal  to  532.45  tons,  and  in  each 
float  a  power  equal  to  78.33  tons.  There  being  two  floats  in  each  tank, 
the  lifting  power  to  each  section  will  be  equal  to  6S9.11  tons,  and  the  6 
sections  will  be  4,134.66  tons.  The  depth  of  tanks,  9  feet  6  inches,  add- 
ed to  the  height  of  keel-blocks,  2  feet 6  inches,  will  give  for  the  requisite 
depth  of  water,  over  and  above  the  draught  of  the  ship,  12  feet :  thus,  to 
dock  a  ship  of  25  fret  draught  will  require  3S  feetdepth  of  water.  The  weight 
of  the  ship  Pennsylvania,  with  her  armament,  stores,  and  crew,  is  stated 
at  5,200  tons,  and  a  dock  of  lifting  power  sufficient  to  raise  this  weight, 
would  require  an  additional  depth  of  2  feet  in  the  tanks,  and  40  feet 
water  for  use.  The  several  sections  of  this  dock  are  to  be  connected  by 
strong  beams  of  oak  timber,  and  they  may  be  arranged  to  accommodate 
a  vessel  of  any  length  from  thirty  feet  to  three  hundred.  On  each  side  of 
the  dock  is  a  strong  framing,  upon  which  are  placed  the  steam-engines 
and  machinery  for  pumping  the  water  from  the  tanks,  and  for  forcing  the 
floats  beneath  the  water.  The  proposed  basin  is  to  be  250  feet  square, 
and  the  side  walls  1 1  feet  high  :  the  whole  area  of  the  basin  to  be  strongly 


41 


Doc.  No.  146. 

piled,  and  covered  with  a  stone  floor  1  foot  thick  :  the  piles  to  be  12  inches 
diameter,  and  4  feet  from  centre  to  centre  ;  and  all  the  masonry  of  the 
floor  and  side-walls  to  be  laid  in  hydraulic  cement.  The  estimate  is  for 
three  railways,  each  provided  with  an  hydraulic  cylinder  of  sufficient 
power  to  draw  on  shore  the  largest  ships-of-the-line  ;  also,  two  steam-en- 
gines, each  of  the  power  of  twenty  horses,  and  provided  with  all  the  ne- 
cessary pumps  and  fixtures  for  working  the  engines  and  cylinders,  one 
set  of  bed  and  sliding-ways,  and  three  sets  of  hauling  beams  ;  the  foun- 
dations of  the  railways  to  be  piled  ;  the  piles  cut  oft'  two  feet  below  ordi- 
nary high  water,  and  capped  with  timbers  12  inches  thick  ;  the  walls  to  be 
2  feet  6  inches  wide  at  the  base,  and  2  feet  at  the  top  for  the  side-walls  ; 
the  centre-walls  to  be  3  feet  at  the  base,  and  2  feet  6  inches  at  the  top  ; 
and  all  the  walls  to  be  connected  by  strong  cross-walls. 

The  process  of  docking  a  ship  is  first  to  sink  the  dock  to  the  required 
depth,  by  admitting  water  into  the  tanks,  and  elevating  the  floats  by  the 
small  engines  and  machinery ;  the  ship  is  then  placed  directly  over  the 
centre  of  the  dock,  the  side-shores  arranged,  and  the  pumps  are  then  set 
in  motion.  As  the  water  is  withdrawn  from  the  tanks,  they  gradually  rise 
to  the  surface,  and,  with  them,  the  ship.  As  the  ship  rises  from  the  wa- 
ter, the  end  floats  are  forced  down,  and  secure  the  stability  of  the  whole 
structure,  while  they  aid  in  elevating  the  ship.  After  the  ship  is  raised 
upon  the  dock,  the  whole  structure  is  to  be  floated  into  the  basin,  the  water 
again  admitted  into  the  tanks,  and  the  dock  sunk  until  it  securely  rests 
upon  the  floor  of  the  basin,  a  cradle  is  then  to  be  placed  beneath  the 
ship,  the  hauling  beams  attached,  the  engines  and  cylinders  put  in  ope- 
ration, and  the  ship  drawn  on  shore  upon  the  railways. 

The  connecting  beams  are  so  constructed,  that,  by  keying  them  firmly 
after  the  ship  is  raised,  the  several  sections  become  as  one  structure ;  and 
should  one  end  of  a  tank  be  filled  with  water  by  accident  or  design,  that 
tank  could  not  sink  below  the  others,  it  being  supported  by  the  connect- 
ing beams ;  the  effect  of  such  accident  would  be,  the  depression  of  the 
side  of  the  dock  upon  which  the  tank  filled,  until  the  additional  displace- 
ment became  equal  to  the  amount  of  water  admitted  into  the  tank  ;  this 
effect  would  be  immediately  counteracted  by  driving  the  end  floats  into 
the  water  or  by  exhausting  more  water  from  the  remaining  tanks.  The 
machinery  for  working  the  pumps  and  end-floats  is  perfectly  simple,  and 
the  connection  of  one  section  with  another  is  accomplished  by  means  of 
a  hollow  sliding  shaft,  with  ball  and  socket  joiuts  ;  the  introduction  of  the 
ball  and  socket  joints,  and  moveable  shafts,  renders  it  unnecessary  to  pre- 
serve a  straight  line  of  shafting,  and  affords  a  great  facility  for  extending 
the  sections  to  any  desired  length.  The  power  necessary  to  force  an 
end-float  beneath  the  wate,r  is  78.33  tons,  and  no  additional  resistance 
would  ever  be  applied  to  the  machinery  used  in  forcing  these  floats  down. 
The  common  lifting  pump,  with  butterfly  valves,  is  used  for  exhau&ting 
the  tanks  ;  and  I  apprehend  no  difficulty  in  constructing  all  the  machin- 
ery with  sufficient  strength  to  guard  against  accidents.  The  pump-work 
is  a  small  item  of  expense,  and  the  cost  of  a  duplicate  set  would  be  a  very 
inconsiderable  amount. 

By  introducing  gauge-rods,  properly  graduated,  the  lifting  power  exert- 
ed by  each  section  may  be  ascertained  with  mathematical  precision ;  the 
6 


42 


Doc.  No.  146. 

weight  of  ships  placed  upon  the  docks  may  thus  be  readily  and  accurately 
obtained.  The  sections  of  this  dock  may  be  disconnected  at  pleasure, 
and  formed  into  two  docks  of  three  sections  each,  or  one  of  four,  and  the 
other  of  two  sections,  and,  if  required,  maybe  merged  into  three  docks 
of  two  sections  each.  Such  small  docks  would  be  capable  of  taking  out 
brigs  or  schooners,  and  could  be  used  independently  of  each  other.  The 
practicability  of  constructing  an  hydraulic  cylinder  of  power  sufficient  to 
draw  the  ship  from  the  dock  upon  a  level  railway,  does  not  admit  of  a 
reasonable  doubt,  when  it  is  well  known  that  large  ships  are  not  only 
drawn  up  on  an  inclined  plane,  by  the  methods  usually  adopted  upon  the 
common  marine  railway,  but  are  also  raised  vertically  from  the  water, 
by  means  of  hydraulic  cylinders,  as  applied  at  the  screw-docks.  A  serious 
objection,  alike  common  to  all  plans  of  floating  docks  when  extended  to 
a  capacity  sufficient  to  raise  the  largest  ships-of-the-line  under  all  circum- 
stances, is  the  great  depth  of  water  necessary  for  their  operations.  The 
weight  of  the  Pennsylvania,  when  ready  for  sea,  is  stated  to  be  5,200  tons, 
and  her  draught  of  water  25  feet.  Should  it  be  necessary  to  dock  this 
ship  in  such  condition,  a  depth  of  at  least  40  feet  would  be  required.  To 
obtain  this  great  depth  at  the  Brooklyn  yard,  it  will  be  necessary  to  per- 
form a  large  amount  of  dredging  ;  and  to  preserve  it,  there  should  be  a 
line  of  crib-work  constructed  around  the  wall,  about  the  flats.  A  line  of 
crib- work  800  feet  long,  and  of  proper  dimensions  and  construction,  will 
cost  $39,200,  and  the  excavations  around  the  yard  will  cost  the  additional 
sum  of  $111,158.  The  proprietors  propose  to  construct  a  dock,  basin, 
and  all  the  necessary  machinery  as  already  described,  the  dock  being  ca- 
pable of  raising  5,200  tons,  for  the  following  sums  : 
For  the  dock,  basin,  railways,  and  all  machinery  .  .  $497,000  00 
For  800  running  feet  of  crib-work  ....  39,200  00 
For  excavating  the  channel   111,158  00 

$647,358  00 


The  following  statement  will  show  the  weight  and  draught  of  a  vessel 
of  each  class  when  in  ballast  trim. 


JNames  of  Vessels. 

Weight  of  hull 
and  ballast. 

Mean  draught. 

Tons. 

Feet. 

Pennsylvania  ..... 

2,S76 

17.5 

North  Carolina  

2,268 

17 

Franklin  ...... 

1,836 

16 

Congress  

1,455 

15.33 

Macedonian  ..... 

1,033 

14.83 

Saratoga  ...... 

536 

11.83 

Vandalia  ...... 

491 

11.53 

Yorktown  ...... 

412 

11.41 

Dolphin  

140 

8.95 

43 


Doc.  No.  146. 

A  dock  of  lifting  power  sufficient  to  raise  the  largest  ship  when  reliev- 
ed from  the  weight  of  her  armament,  stores,  &c,  would  require  for  its 
operation  a  deptli  of  water  equal  to  14  feet  in  addition  to  the  draught  of 
the  ship.  Thus,  to  dock  the  Pennsylvania,  the  requisite  depth  would  be 
32  feet;  and  the  cost  of  a  dock,  basin,  three  railways,  and  all  the  neces- 
sary machinery,  would  be  $485,000  00 

For  800  running  feet  of  crib-work  ....  39,200  00 
For  excavating  the  channel    ......      43,153  60 

$567,35S  60 


I  am  of  the  opinion  that  the  construction  of  a  dock  upon  this  plan, 
capable  of  raising  the  largest  ships-of-the-line,  would  be  practicable. 

In  the  performance  of  the  duty  assigned  me,  I  have  availed  myself  of 
all  the  information  to  be  obtained  from  the  reports  of  former  examina- 
tions in  relation  to  the  location  of  dry  docks  and  navy-yards.  These 
surveys  and  examinations  have  been  attended  with  much  labor  and  ex- 
posure ;  and  I  cannot  forbear  an  expression  of  the  great  satisfaction  I 
experienced  from  the  prompt  and  efficient  manner  in  which  the  several 
duties  were  performed  by  Messrs.  George  F.  De  la  Roche  and  Calvin 
Brown,  the  gentlemen  associated  with  me. 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

WM.  P.  S.  SANGER,  Engineer. 

Hon.  David  Henshaw, 

Secretary  of  the  Navy. 


28th  Congress,  (SENATE.)  (134) 

1st  Session. 

REPORT 

OF 

THE  SECRETARY  OF  THE  NAVY, 

COMMUNICATING 
(In  compliance  with  a  resolution  of  the  Senate) 
Plans  and  estimates  for  the  construction  of  a  dry  dock  at  Pensacola. 


Navy  Depart3ient,  February  16,  1844. 
Sir  :  In  Compliance  with  the  direction  of  the  Senate  to  lay  before  that 
body  "  the  plan  and  estimate  for  a  permanent  wharf  at  Pensacola  navy 
yard,  as  designed  by  James  Herron,  civil  engineer,  and  approved  by  the 
naval  commandant  of  the  station,"  &c,  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  has  the 
honor  to  submit  copies  of  Mr.  Herron's  plans  and  estimates. 


44 


In  obedience  to  the  second  part  of  said  resolution,  the  Secretary  has 
the  honor  to  transmit  the  report  of  W.  P.  S.  Sanger,  Esq.,  engineer  of  the 
bureau  of  Yards  and  Docks,  in  favor  of  the  plan  of  Dakin's  sectional 
dock,  connected  with  a  basin  and  railway,  as  affording  more  extensive 
facilities  than  any  other  plan  with  which  he  is  acquainted. 

The  estimate  of  the  probable  cost  is  embraced  in  the  ofTers^of  S.  D. 
Dakin  and  associates  to  construct  it,  hereto  appended. 

They  offer,  first,  to  construct  a  dock  115  by  165  feet,  piled  in  the  best 
manner,  with  timber  bottom,  covered  with  concrete,  and  timber  walls, 
covered  with  galvanized  iron,  and  one  rail  track,  machinery  for  dock 
complete,  for  $179,100. 

A  dock  and  basin  of  the  same  size,  built  of  hewn  stone,  in  the  most 
permanent  manner,  with  one  rail  track,  for  $255,600. 

Or,  third,  to  construct  the  same  dock,  with  a  basin  to  admit  six  rail 
tracks,  or  175  feet  square,  of  hewn  stone,  for  $315,600. 

The  department  has  recently,  in  another  report  submitted  to  Congress, 
expressed  an  opinion  in  favor  of  Dakin's  plan  of  dock,  connected  with 
rail  tracks.  This  plan  is  believed  to  be  eminently  well  adapted  to  the  lo- 
cality of  Pensacola,  and  will  undoubtedly  afford  facilities  greatly  superior 
to  any  excavated  stone  dock  that  can  be  constructed.  The  department  de- 
cided some  time  since  to  adopt  the  plan  of  Mr.  Dakin  for  the  dock  at 
Pensacola,  directed  to  be  built  under  an  appropriation  of  Congress  of 
$100,000,  for  building  a  floating  dock  at  that  place,  and  partly  contract- 
ed for  the  same,  but  deferred  completing  the  contract,  that  the  improve- 
ment of  the  rail  track  might  be  added,  and  because  the  appropriation  was 
not  sufficient  to  meet  the  expense  of  the  dock  on  the  improved  plan. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

DAVID  HENSHAW. 

Hon.  W.  P.  Mangum, 

President  of  the  Senate. 

Bureau  of  Yards  and  Docks,  February  15,  1844. 

Sir  :  In  answer  to  your  communication  of  this  date,  calling-  for  a  «  re- 
port of  my  opinion  of  the  plan  of  a  dock,  marine  railway,  or  other  suita- 
ble work,  (without  specifications,)  that  will  afford  the  greatest  facilities  for 
the  construction  and  thorough  repair  of  vessels  of  war  of  the  size  of 
second-class  frigates,  at  the  Pensacola  navy -yard,"  I  respectfully  report 
that,  in  my  opinion,  the  plan  of  Dakin's  sectional  dock,  connected  with  a 
basin  and  railways  for  taking  ships  on  shore,  affords  more  extensive  fa- 
cilities than  any  other  plan  with  which  I  am  acquainted. 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

WILLIAM  P.  S.  SANGER,  Engineer. 

Hon.  David  Henshaw, 

Secretary  of  the  Navy. 


